Sara's Story
by sycoandcrazy.inc
Summary: There's a girl with a secret, one she doesn't even know herself. A man knows her secret, and wants her because of it. It is up to our favorite heroes to keep her, and the world, safe.
1. Chapter 1

Hello people

**Hello people! I'm Crazy, from sycoandcrazy.inc. I would like to take this moment to inform you that neither me, nor my friend Syco own YuYu Hakusho. If we did it would probably be very different; anyways on with the story. **

_**This is Syco, just letting the readers know that this has been rewritten and is a lot better than what we started with.**_

* * *

Sara curled up in a little corner in her room holding her stuffed fox, Kit, close as she listened to the shouting downstairs. Her Dad and Gloria, the woman they lived with, had been drinking again. Whenever they drank they got into fights, and things always went badly for Sara when they got upset.

_"Please," _she prayed. _"Please don't let them remember me." _Eventually she was able to fall asleep, still holding Kit tightly.

* * *

The next day Sara tiptoed out of the house as so not to wake up her Dad or Gloria. As soon as she was out of the house she ran to her new school, happy for a reason to leave that Hell she called home. They had moved there from the old house they use to live in, until Dad got into trouble with the law for yelling and disturbing the peace, with a threat of public intoxication. Now she had a new school to go to, new people to lie to, and a new town to find hiding places in.

* * *

Suichi Minamino was walking to school, early as always. After all he had to be the perfect son as he did not want to disappoint his mother in any way; even if he lied to her all the time. His thoughts were interrupted by a shout.

"Hey, Kur, uh, Suichi." Suichi, also called Kurama to those who knew a certain secret about him, looked behind him to see Yusuke running up behind him. Yusuke was a strong looking young man, but not too buff, with black greased-backed hair and brown eyes.

"I got a message through the compact communicator thingy. Botan wants to meet us after school, something about a mission." Yusuke continued, "I'm not going to school, for the whole day anyways, but we have to wait for you and Kuwabara."

"I understand Yusuke. I'll be there as soon as I can," Kurama responded.

Yusuke nodded and said, "Don't forget, we're meeting at the arcade this time." Then he took off to who knows where.

Kurama shook his head, that boy was never going to go to a full day of school. He quickly walked to rest of the way to school.

* * *

Class was finally almost ready to start. Kurama was aimlessly looking around when he noticed a new person walk in. Kurama studied her.

Her brown hair was shoulder length and pulled back in a ponytail, except for her bangs that went down past her shoulders by a few inches. Her eyes were a dark forest green, and she had fair skin. Her full lips were a dusty pink. What he found curious about her was her clothing. Despite the fact that it was the beginning of August and still very hot, she was wearing jeans, a long sleeve turtleneck, and tennis shoes.

The girl stood beside the teacher's desk, looking shyly around. The teacher walked in, and noticed the girl. She started talking softly to the new student, in a whisper, but Kurama could hear them anyways.

"You're Sara Clark?" the teacher asked. The girl nodded hesitantly. "Good, I'll introduce you to the class now."

"Class, we have a new student. This is Sara Clark. I trust you will all do your best to make her feel welcome." Here the teacher looked at the class sternly. "You may sit over there by Maya," the teacher said, gesturing to an empty seat.

Sara looked over to see next to the empty seat a girl with long black hair and pretty brown eyes smile and wave her over.

Sara sat down by the girl, who was apparently Maya, who smiled brightly.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you," Maya whispered.

Sara smiled back. "It's nice to meet you too."

It did not seem like very long before class had ended.

As Sara was walking out, Maya ran up beside her and asked, "What's your schedule?" Sara pulled it out and gave it to her.

Maya smiled happily. "You and I have all the same classes!"

Sara smiled back shyly, not used to such cheeriness.

"Come on, I will show you where they are," Maya said grabbing her hand.

All that morning Sara stayed by Maya. When lunchtime came around, she looked around the cafeteria in hopes of spotting her. When Sara finally saw her, Maya was sitting at a table with two boys.

Sara immediately turned to find a table by herself, but Maya had seen her. "Hey, Sara, come over here!" Sara obediently went over and sat down by Maya, who smiled happily at her.

"_Does she ever stop smiling?_" Sara wondered.

"Guys, this is Sara. Sara, the red head is Suichi and the other is Kaito." Maya introduced, pointing to each guy in turn.

Sara mumbled a hello, keeping her eyes on her tray.

Suichi smiled and said a polite hello, as did Kaito.

"Hey, aren't you going to eat anything?" asked Kaito when he noticed that she didn't have any food.

Sara shook her head no. "I'm uh, not hungry," she lied. Truth is she was very hungry, but she had been too scared that she might wake up her Dad or Gloria to risk making a lunch. She knew better than to take money for anything; however, she couldn't tell them that so she had decided on the story that she wasn't hungry on the way to school, just in case of the unlikely instance that anyone asked. Though as she was finding out the today the unlikely was happening.

"Are you sure?" Maya asked. "They have very good pizza today."

"I'm sure," Sara said, just as her stomach started to growl.

This caused everyone to stare at her. Sara felt her face warming up. She jumped up, quickly blurted, "I have to go," and ran off.

"Well, that was odd," stated Kaito.

"_That was very odd_," thought Kurama. "_Why did she lie about not being hungry_?" he wondered. "_Oh well_," he decided after a few moments of thought, "_She is new, and probably just didn't want to admit that she forgot her lunch or her money." _With that he pushed the thoughts of Sara out of his head and focused on the conversation at the table.

* * *

School finally ended to Sara's relief, but as she was walking out Maya came up beside her.

"Sara, I know we just meet, but why did you lie about being hungry at lunch?" Maya said hesitantly.

Sara thought that Maya would ask this question so she had decided to keep it simple and had an answer ready. "The truth is I can be really forgetful sometimes. This morning I was in a hurry, so I forgot to get my lunch money or pack a lunch."

Maya looked at her. "I understand that, but why didn't you just tell us? We could have split lunches or something, instead of you going hungry."

Sara looked down. "I just get really embarrassed about how forgetful I can be."

Maya laughed. "There's no reason to be embarrassed about that, Sara. Everyone can be forgetful at times."

Sara smiled weakly at her. "I'll remember that."


	2. Chapter 2

**Crazy: My friend Syco was supposed to do this chapter but was unable to so I'm doing it. Now then, Yoko would you please do the disclaimer?**

**Yoko/glares heatedly/ No.**

**Crazy: You wouldn't want the razor incident to repeat itself would you?**

**Yoko/suddenly looks scared/ CrazyandSycodonotownYuYuHakusho!**

**Crazy: I guess that'll work.**

_**Syco here saying this chapter has been redone.**_

* * *

Kurama walked down the sidewalk on his way to meet the guys at the arcade. Why were they meeting at the arcade? Yusuke and Kuwabara had somehow managed to outvote Hiei and Kurama. How they had won since the vote was split down the middle, Kurama wasn't sure. But apparently, they had.

And so, he was going to the arcade.

When Kurama arrived, he found Yusuke and Kuwabara playing against each other in some sort of fighting game. It was hard to tell just who was winning, but Kurama thought that it might be Kuwabara.

"Hello, Yusuke, Kuwabara."

"You're going down, Urameshi!"

"In your dreams, Kuwabara!"

"Is Hiei here yet?" Kurama asked.

"Corner," Yusuke grunted, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Of course. Please, once you two finish this game, will you join us?"

"Sure," Kuwabara said, also not taking his eyes off the screen.

Kurama turned and scanned the room for Hiei. He found Hiei sitting at a table in the corner.

Kurama walked over and smiled in greeting. "Hello, Hiei."

"Hn."

Kurama took a seat beside him.

"How did we end up here again?"

Kurama glanced at Hiei. "I think Yusuke and Kuwabara said they wouldn't show up at all if we weren't meeting here."

"And that would have hurt us how?"

Kurama chuckled. "You know we need them Hiei."

"Hn."

"Hey, guys!"

Both of them looked up to see a smiling Botan standing in front of their table, wearing the girl's school uniform of the school Yusuke went to.

"Hello, Botan," Kurama said, while Hiei said nothing.

"Where are Yusuke and Kuwabara?" Botan asked looking around.

"Over there, playing one of the video games," Kurama said pointing.

Botan frowned. "Oh, please. We have important matters to discuss, and they want to play games."

Botan walked over and whacked Yusuke upside his head. "Hello! We have things to do that are more important to this!"

Kuwabara took advantage of Yusuke's momentary distraction to win the game. "Hah, take that, Urameshi!"

Yusuke stared at the screen. "Cheater, I was distracted!" Then he glared at Botan. "This is all your fault."

She rolled her eyes. "You can play again some other time. Now come on! I haven't got all day."

The three walked over, Yusuke sulking and Kuwabara grinning. Yusuke and Kuwabara took their seats and Botan stood in front of the four.

"Now, I'm supposed to instruct you four on your next mission. It's fairly straight forward, so we don't expect too much trouble. We've received a report that there is a hanyou somewhere within the city. It is you four's job to find this hanyou and bring her to Koenma."

"Do you have any clues on who might be the hanyou, other than the fact that she is female?" asked Kurama.

"Yeah, otherwise we're going to get anywhere searching the whole freaking city for one person we don't even know," Yusuke said.

Botan pulled out her book and searched it. "Let's see…Our informant told us that the hanyou is female and that she is somewhere between the ages fifteen and eighteen. So she could even go to one of your schools."

"Then first we will search our individual schools and move out to other school if we don't find her. Hiei can search the schools or the city with help from the Jagan Eye." Kurama said, outlining the plan.

Yusuke hit his head, "Dang it! That means that I have to actually go to school."

"You should go to school anyways." Kuwabara said. "I'm going to graduate before you if you don't."

Yusuke shook his head, "Are you kidding? They will practically push me across the stage to get me out of school and their lives."

"Are we done here?" Hiei interrupted.

Botan looked through her book again, "Yep! That's all I have for you guys."

Hiei practically vanished, and Kurama excused himself to go home.

Yusuke and Kuwabara immediately went back to the video game, leaving Botan standing by herself.

"Well," she huffed, "I'll just be off then."

* * *

When Sara got home after school, she quietly went inside and tried to sneak up the stairs to her room. Her attempt failed as someone grabbed the back of her backpack and yanked her down.

Looking up from her position on the floor, Sara could see the angry face of her father, Harold.

He was a big man, slightly over six feet tall, with a large belly. Despite his size, Sara had learned that he could move quite fast. His black hair was matted and greasy and he hadn't shaved in about four days, and from his smell it had been even longer since he bathed.

He glared down at her with blood-shot eyes. "Where do you think your going?" He growled at her.

Sara lowered her eyes and replied meekly. "I was just going to put my stuff up, Sir."

He sent her a vicious kick, making her double over in pain. He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the kitchen. Once they were inside, he threw her down; making her hit her head pretty hard.

"Not until you make me and Gloria some food," he snarled. "You should be glad to make our food, seeing as we take care of you. No one else cares about you enough to do that."

He leaned down until he was in her face.

"Remember that girl. No one cares about you." Giving her one last kick for good measure, he strode out of the kitchen.

Sara slowly pulled herself up, tears slipping down her face. Her dad was right. Nobody cared about her.

If they did, they would have gotten her out of there after her mom died. However, no one did. She was alone.

She began making something for Harold and Gloria to eat. She wasn't overly worried about her father's food; he would eat anything. She was, however, worried about Gloria's food. She was a fussy eater, and wouldn't hesitant to throw something at Sara if something was wrong with her food.

As Sara cooked, she prayed to who ever would listen that they wouldn't get upset at her again today.

* * *

Kurama was on a walk.

Normally the only places he walked to were school, home, and the park. But after the meeting with Koenma he felt the need to go walking.

He was thinking about the new mission Botan had given them. He started going through the list of girls at his school for one that might be the hanyou. He went through the list and stopped on the last name, Sara Clark.

She was unusual. She wore long sleeves in the one of the hottest times of the year, of course that was explainable by the fact that she could have come from somewhere that gets hotter than the area they lived in. She also seemed really timid, but again, that was explainable by the fact that she could be naturally that way or it could be that she was new to the area and so was nervous.

"_I suppose the only really odd thing about her_," Kurama thought, "_is the fact that her first day of school was the same day we received the mission from Koenma._"

Kurama pulled out of his thoughts and decided to take an interest in where he was. Looking around, he could see that he was what was commonly considered the trashiest part of town. Every town has one, the section that parents warn their kids never to go to, even in board daylight. It was the slums, the ghettos, whatever people wished to call it. Sometimes drunkards and drug addicts were found lying in the streets.

Thankfully there were no people sprawled about in the streets, but he was in front of a house in a sorry state of disrepair.

The house was two stories, but looked like the owners never took care of it. The front steps were sagging; some of the windows were boarded up. And the garden! It pained him to see what could have been a wonderful place for plants a haven for scraggly weeds. He felt extremely sorry for whoever lived there.

Then he heard the voices. It sounded as though a man and a woman were _trying_ to sing something remotely related to a song. They were drunk, very, very, very drunk. Then the "song" ended.

He heard a man talking to the woman, calling her Glory or something.

After a few minutes more, he decided that it was time for him to go home.


	3. Chapter 3

**This is Syco here, posting a brand new chapter in Sara's Story. This Chapter was written by Crazy. (round of applause) Yes, she did very well. Hope everyone enjoys the change in point of view.**

**We do not own YYH. But we do own all of our original characters.**

**_This chapter has been redone._**

* * *

Shiori believed that there were some things that were simply always true. One of these things was that if something seemed too good to be true, then it was. And in her life, it seemed that Suichi was too good to be true.

Suichi had never caused her the least bit of problems. Suichi always had perfect manners, he made next to perfect scores in all his classes, always did his chores without being told, called if he was going to be coming home late, and was loved by everyone he met. In short, he was every mother's dream come true.

Except Shiori's.

It wasn't that Shiori didn't love Suichi just the way he was. Shiori loved him more than anyone else in the world. It was just that sometimes things seemed off. After all, it wasn't normal for anyone, especially a teenager, to be so perfect.

Shiori sighed as she stood over the stove, cooking dinner for herself and Suichi. She knew her friends complained all the time about their kids getting into trouble. It was strange not being able to relate to them.

"There has to be something," Shiori muttered to herself. She never truly believed that Suichi was as perfect as he seemed. No one was perfect. But she couldn't see anything wrong.

She glanced out the window again, and saw Suichi coming down the walk. He'd gotten home later than usual today. He'd called her to say he was meeting with his friends at the arcade.

Shiori knew that most mothers would be upset if their children started hanging out with teens like Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei, but Shiori was glad of it. Before he had started hanging out with them Suichi had had almost no social life. She was glad he was starting to do things that teens normally did, like visiting the arcade.

Shiori heard the front door open and close; soon after Suichi walked in the kitchen. He gave her a quick hug. "Hello Mother. How was your day?"

Shiori smiled up at him. It always amazed her how tall he was. Though Shiori supposed that since he was seventeen he ought to be taller than she was. "Hello, Suichi. My day was just fine. What about yours?"

"Fine," he replied. "Do you need any help with dinner?"

Shiori shook her head no. "Thank you for offering, but I've got everything under control."

Suichi nodded. "In that case I shall retire to do my homework."

Shiori barely kept her smile in place. Who talked like that? And what teen volunteered to do their homework right away? "Okay dear. I'll call you when dinner's ready."

Suichi turned and walked out of the room. Shiori watched him go, and wondered, not for the first time, how he had learned to move so elegantly. His posture was perfect, and every movement he made seemed to flow. Shiori hadn't observed any other teen that moved like Suichi did.

* * *

It wasn't too long before dinner was finished. "Suichi dear, dinner is ready," Shiori called.

She set the plates of food on the table just as Suichi came in the room. "It smells wonderful, Mother," he said with a smile.

Shiori smiled back. Suichi had the sort of smile that it was impossible not to respond with a smile. "I'm glad you think so. Hopefully it will taste as good as it smells."

"I'm sure it will Mother," Suichi said pulling out a chair for her to sit down.

Shiori sat, marveling once more at the being that was her son. He sat down in the chair beside her and began to eat.

The table was silent, since neither of them spoke. This had always bothered Shiori. She didn't like complete silence at the dinner table, but often had no idea what to say to her son. Sometimes when she spoke to him, his responses made her feel as though he was the adult in the house, and she was the child.

"Did anything interesting happen at school today?" she asked.

Suichi glanced at her briefly and then turned his eyes back to his food. "A new student joined the class."

"Oh really?"

Suichi nodded. "A girl, named Sara Clark."  
"What's she like?" asked Shiori out of curiosity.

"She is extremely shy," Suichi responded. "I think she just moved to the area, and she's really nervous."  
"Poor thing, though I'm sure she'll do well."  
Suichi nodded. "Maya seems to have taken Sara under her wing, so it will be fine."

"How is Maya these days? I hardly ever see her anymore." A year or so before he'd become friends with Yusuke, he and Maya had been pretty close. She'd come over to the house all the time, and Shiori was certain that Maya had had feelings for Suichi. Shiori was almost certain that Suichi had returned them, but something had happened, Shiori didn't know what, and Maya had simply quit coming over. She and Suichi had remained friends, but no where near as close as they had been.

"Maya is doing fine," he said. "She's doing well in all of her classes."

Shiori nodded. "That's good." Shiori decided to try and ask a question she normally wouldn't. "How come she never visits us here anymore? She used to come all the time."

Suichi looked surprised for a moment, but the expression disappeared under his usual look of calm. "There isn't really a reason for her to come over now," he said evasively.

"She didn't need a reason before," Shiori reminded him.

Suichi shrugged. "We were children."

Shiori was about to say he still was a child, but caught herself. About most other teens, the statement would probably be true. Not so with Suichi. Looking back, Shiori sometimes wondered if he'd ever truly been a child.

With some surprise, Shiori realized all of a sudden that they were done eating. She stood and began gathering plates, but Suichi took them from her.

"I will do the dishes Mother. You go rest."

For some reason, this made Shiori mad. She knew it shouldn't make her mad. After all, he was offering to help her. Still, the offer angered her.

She roughly snatched the dishes away from a startled Suichi. "I can do them myself," she snapped, and went into the kitchen.

She dropped he dishes into the sink, already regretting her outburst. Suichi had done nothing to earn her anger. But that, Shiori knew, was exactly the problem.

"Mother?"

Shiori turned to see Suichi standing hesitantly in the doorway, a look of hurt and confusion on his face. There were always moments like this when Suichi seemed like a normal teenager.

"Is something wrong?"

_Yes!_ Shiori wanted to say. _Something is wrong, but I don't know what. All I know is you can't truly be as perfect as you seem._

"No," she said. "Nothing's wrong. I'm sorry for snapping at you."

She began to wash the dishes and for a minute Suichi simply stood where he was. After a little while, he came forward and without a word began to dry the dishes that Shiori had washed. They finished cleaning the kitchen together in silence.

Shiori turned to walk out of the kitchen and stopped. She could have sworn for a second there when she was turning that someone had been out on the sidewalk looking into the window. But now there was no one there.

"What is it Mother?" Suichi asked with concern in his voice.

Shiori shook her head. "Nothing. I thought I saw something outside, but it must have been my imagination."

Instead of shrugging the incident aside like Shiori would have expected, Suichi turned his attention to the window, his eyes searching for whatever she might have seen.

Shiori laid her hand on his arm. "There was nothing there Suichi."

Suichi looked down at her and smiled. Shiori thought his smile seemed forced. "Of course Mother."

Shiori left the kitchen and decided that she wanted to soak in the bath. She went upstairs to her room, and Suichi went to his. When Shiori entered her room she saw, to her surprise and fear, that someone else was already in there.

She fell back with a small scream, and then she realized that she was only seeing her reflection in her mirror.

Before she could gather herself, Suichi was by her side. "What's wrong?" he asked in a voice sharper than any she'd ever heard him use before.

Shiori blushed with embarrassment. "Nothing. I saw my reflection in the mirror and thought it was a stranger. That's all."

Suichi didn't relax right away, but studied her face as though to make sure she was telling the truth. Shiori felt slightly unnerved by his gaze. Finally he nodded. "Very well then." And he walked away.

Shiori watched him go. What exactly was that supposed to mean? Shiori shook her head. She didn't want to think about it right now, or any of her secret worries about Suichi. Right now, Shiori wanted nothing more than to relax in a bubble bath.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey there everybody, this is the revised version of chapter 4. We don't own YYH. Just the original characters.**

* * *

Sara woke up early the next day. She quickly and quietly got ready for school. Taking her shower, she noticed that she had a bump on the back of her head. The knowledge had come to her attention, when she was washing her hair and realized that there was something _very_ painful on the back of her head. Wincing, she examined the bump and hoped that it had not caused a concussion.

_Not that anyone would care or notice,_ Sara thought to herself, getting dressed for the day. _After all the bump came from my father throwing me._

However, she would have to think up a story, just in case someone asked her about it, though she doubted anyone would.

Sara picked up Kit and spoke to him.

"Well, Kit, it's time for another day of school." Sara smiled slightly. If people heard her talk to a stuffed fox, they would probably think she was crazy.

However, Kit was the only thing she had left from her mother, and her only real friend. Sara hugged him then stuck him in her book bag. She always carried him wherever she went.

Sara headed downstairs and made herself a sandwich for lunch. She had no desire for a repeat of yesterday's mistake. After making the sandwich, she left for school.

* * *

Kurama and Kaito walked to school together in the morning, with Kaito wondering about the incident at lunch yesterday, with Sara Clark.

"There's something weird about her," commented Kaito, pushing his glasses back up to his eyes. "I mean, why would she lie to us about being hungry?"

"Well, she could just be really forgetful about things and not want to admit it," Kurama replied.

"Being forgetful isn't that embarrassing," Kaito said in response.

"Maybe it is for her. People do have different responses to different things," Kurama countered

"If you're talking about Sara," interrupted another voice, "then yes it's because she got embarrassed."

Kurama and Kaito turned to see Maya come striding up to them.

"Oh?" asked Kaito, "Did you speak to her?"

Maya nodded, "Yeah, I spoke with her after school. She said that she's really forgetful and gets embarrassed easily about it."

"See Kaito, nothing odd about that," Kurama said lightly, even if privately he also had misgiving about the incident. About that time, they reached school and each went their separate ways.

As Kurama walked to class, he noticed Sara at her locker getting books out.

Watching her, he noticed that her hand kept straying to the back of her head. She would wince and take her hand away, only to start the process again a few seconds later.

_What is wrong with her head? _Kurama wondered to himself, _did she hit it on something?_

Just then Sara stood up, but has she did, something fell out of her backpack. Kurama blinked, it looked like a stuffed animal, a fox to be exact.

Unfortunately, someone else saw it as well.

"What do we have here boys?" said a large boy, well known for his bullying, to his group of friends, well known for encouraging his bullying. "Did the little baby bring her stuffed pet to school?" he asked picking up the fox.

Sara immediately tried to take her toy back. "Give him back to me!" she ordered the bully.

The boy just held the fox above his head, "Him? Does the itsy bitsy toy have a name too? Aww, is he your only friend?" The boy's friends joined him in laughter.

"Say bye-bye to your precious fox," he said as he prepared to rip the head off. Kurama decided it was past time that he joined in. His hand shot out and grabbed the boy's wrist, squeezing tightly.

"Drop it," he growled. The bully immediately let go of the fox as his friends ran off.

Kurama released his wrist and the bully followed his friends. He turned to ask Sara if she was all right but she had already scooped up her things and was running in the opposite direction. He started to go after her, but the bell rang, signaling that it was time to go to class.

_I do hope she will be all right after that_, he thought absent-mindedly.

* * *

Sara ran straight to the girls' bathroom after Shuichi rescued Kit from that horrible boy. No one else was in there, as class was just starting for the day. Sara was happy for that small mercy. The bathroom at her old school had been her sanctuary whenever she was bullied there. It seemed that nothing would change that, not even the move they made to a new town.

Sara wiped away the tears pouring down her face, as she hugged Kit close.

Then she spotted the window. It was just within her reach and just her size.

Sara smiled sadly as she opened the window. _Yes, nothing has changed. Here I am running away from school again, using the bathroom this time_.

She hugged Kit again after she crawled out of the window and breathed the fresh air. "Let's get out of here Kit."

Sara walked until she found a park and was happy to find that it had a wooded area. She would hide there until it was time to return to her father's house.


	5. Chapter 5

_This chapter has been redone!_

* * *

Kurama stared fixedly at one spot in the classroom. That spot was the desk that was supposed to be occupied by Sara. However, Sara was noticeably not in the desk. She hadn't been present in their first class either.

_Did she leave school after I stopped those bullies?_

It was possible, though Kurama thought it strange that she should run away from school simply because she was picked on once. Most people would have stayed.

_It's possible that she's been bullied before, and that's why she ran off._

Yes, her having been bullied at her old school would explain quite a bit, like why she was always so jumpy. Kurama wondered where exactly she would have gone when she ran off. Probably home.

"Suichi!"

Kurama turned, startled to realize that Kaito had been calling his name for a while. "Oh, sorry Kaito, I was distracted."

Kaito smiled slightly. "I could see that. But you know, mooning after Sara when she's not here is going to make your grades drop."

Kurama found himself blushing slightly. That was not what he'd been doing. "Please, Kaito, I only met the girl yesterday. I haven't developed feelings for her overnight."

"So you don't believe in love at first sight?" Kaito asked teasingly.

"No, I do not."

"Well, anyways, that's not the reason I started this conversation. The teacher has given us our assignment."

For the rest of class Kurama forgot about Sara and her absence as he did the assigned work. Once class ended his mind wandered back to the mystery of her absence, but Kurama discarded it from his mind. In the end, it wasn't all that important.

"See you tomorrow Suichi!" Kaito called.

Kurama waved in response and started to walk home. As he walked, Kurama thought about the mission Koenma had given them. He had to figure out which of the girls at his school might be the hanyou they were looking for.

_Since we've only just gotten this mission, it won't be anyone who's gone to the school for any great length of time. So, new students. I know of four girls who have started within the last year, though there could be more that I don't know about._

If he was going to check out the new students, Kurama realized, he was going to have to break into the school records. "That will be fun," he said with a sigh.

An unexpected noise distracted Kurama from his thoughts. It was crying. Kurama looked about him and realized the sound was coming from the ally way to his left.

Concerned Kurama walked down the ally and saw a girl wearing the uniform from his school crouched behind some trashcans. "Are you okay?" he asked.

The girl looked up and Kurama was shocked to realize that it was Sara. She threw herself into his arms and clung to him sobbing.

Instinctively Kurama closed her in his arms and held her. "Shh, it's okay, Sara. It'll be all right."

_What happened to her? Who could have done this?_

Kurama held her tightly, not understanding why anyone would want to hurt her. Sara was weak and helpless, like a child, and only the cruelest of people could ever harm her.

However, as Kurama was trying to comfort her, he realized that something didn't feel right. If Sara was so traumatized and easily frightened, why was she willing to trust him, someone she knew only by name? In addition, her scent didn't quite smell right either.

Kurama placed his hand over the back of her head, feeling for the spot that he had noticed her touching earlier. She should react with pain since judging from the way she had acted this morning, however she gave no response and Kurama couldn't find the bump he'd been expecting. Besides this, it suddenly occured to Kurama that this girl was wearing a uniform but Sara didn't have a uniform yet. That made Kurama feel rather foolish, but it did prove his suspicions. Whoever this was, it wasn't Sara. In fact, they weren't even human.

Quick as lightning Kurama moved so that the imposter was held against the wall by the throat. "Who are you?" Kurama asked coldly.

The fake Sara looked surprised, and then grinned evilly. "I am the one who will kill you and capture the hanyou." So saying the creature's arms changed into tentacles that lashed at Kurama.

Kurama jumped back out of reach. The yokai dived at him, but Kurama leaped again and pulled out his rose whip. With a flick of his wrist, the imposter was dead. It hadn't really even been a difficult fight for Kurama.

He watched as the corpse turned into dust. A movement caught his eye. Kurama looked up to see the silhouette of a figure on the rooftop. Unfortunately, the sun was in Kurama's eyes so he couldn't see the figure well. The figure moved away as soon as Kurama's eyes settled on it.

In two leaps, Kurama was on the roof but the person was already long gone. Kurama sniffed the air trying to catch their scent but was unable to. It seemed the person had disguised it. That combined with the powerful odors from the trashcans effectively stopped Kurama's nose.

_What was that all about? Why did that yokai target me, and why take Sara's form? It doesn't make sense. How did the yokai even know about Sara? Moreover, why exactly did the yokai want to find the hanyou? In addition, who was on the roof?_

Kurama didn't know the answer to any of these questions, but he had a feeling that he needed to find out. It would also be a good idea to arrange a meeting sometime soon to update the others on what had happened today.

Kurama opened the door to his house and listened. Mother wasn't home yet it seemed. He slipped his shoes off and put his things away. Kurama decided to give Shiori a break and cook dinner for her.

"Hopefully she will be in a better mood tonight than she was yesterday."

Kurama frowned as he thought about the evening before. He couldn't understand what had put Shiori in such a bad mood. As far as he knew, he hadn't done anything. After all, Kurama always did his best to be the perfect son so she wouldn't have to worry about him.

Perhaps it wasn't his fault. Maybe she'd had a disagreement with one of her friends. That would explain her mood.

"I'll just do my best to make sure she's happy tonight," Kurama said.

Dinner was almost ready when he heard the door open. "Suichi?"

"In the kitchen Mother," he replied.

Shiori came in and walked up behind him. "Oh, Suichi, you didn't have to do that."

Kurama glanced back and smiled at her. "I know, Mother. I wanted to do something for you. That's all."

She shook her head smiling. "I do believe you do something for me everyday. I don't think any other mom can claim such a devoted son." She had to stand on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to put my things away and be right back."

Kurama nodded to show he'd heard her. He listened to her footsteps as she went upstairs and put away her things, and then again as she came downstairs and back into the kitchen.

She began setting the table with dishes before she started to speak. "So, how was your day at school?"

"It was fine."

"Anything interesting happen?"

Kurama thought a moment. Other than Sara's absence, nothing interesting had been going on, and somehow Kurama found he didn't want to mention Sara's disappearance. "Oh, nothing really. It was just the same old school day. How was work?"

Shiori chuckled slightly. "Work was interesting. Sakura had to bring her six-year-old son to work today. He got into everything, but he was so cute as he did it that we couldn't get mad at him, or at least I couldn't. The funniest part was when he got into the printer. He got ink everywhere. Sakura was so upset, and so was the janitor, but it made me laugh."

Kurama smiled; glad she had had a good day. Although, it did baffle him as to how the child causing trouble at work could make her day better.

Kurama moved the food over to the table. "The food is ready."

They sat down at the table and ate their food in relative silence. When they finished Shiori said, "Well, since you cooked I'll do the dishes."

"No need for that Mother," Kurama said. "I can handle it."  
"I know you can but so can I," Shiori told him. "Really Suichi, I'm not an invalid."

Her words unintentionally brought back to Kurama's mind the time when she had been in the hospital and so near to death.

"I didn't mean to treat you like one, Mother; I just wanted you to relax after work."

Shiori sent him a smile, though Kurama thought it seemed more weary than happy. "I know Suichi. But believe it or not, cleaning does help me relax, and with it being just the two of us there really isn't a lot for me to take care of."

She placed the dishes in the sink and waved her hand absently in his direction. "Go call your friends, or something."  
Kurama obediently left Shiori to do as she pleased, feeling slightly frustrated. He always did his best to make sure she didn't have work to do at home, but Shiori was incompliant with his attempts sometimes.

He went up to his room and decided to get what little homework he had out of the way. It took him all of thirty minutes to do that and then he was left with nothing else to do.

Kurama's gaze strayed out the window. It was a nice day outside. Perhaps he should spend some time in his garden.

Kurama quickly changed from his school uniform into his yard clothes. He went out into the garden and spent the next few hours tending to it and forgetting his current problems.

The sun was setting when Kurama finally quit. He stood and viewed the garden with a smile. His garden was one thing that Kurama was completely proud of. He could safely claim that no one else on earth had a garden equal in quality to his.

He walked inside and saw Shiori involved in one of those soap operas she delighted in watching. Personally, Kurama didn't see their appeal. The plots, when there was one, were always ridiculous and the acting was bad.

Kurama didn't want to interrupt her so he went upstairs silently and got a shower. By the time he was done Shiori's soap had ended and she was in her room. Kurama knocked on her bedroom door gently.

"Come in," she called.

Kurama walked in and found her brushing her hair in front of her mirror. Kurama felt that Shiori truly had beautiful black hair, long and straight, but she always kept it pinned up tight so no one could ever really see it.

"I just wanted to say good night, Mother."

Shiori smiled at him in her mirror. "Good night Suichi. I love you."

Kurama forced a smile and closed the door as he left. Perhaps it was strange, but Kurama found it hard to say I love you to his mother. He did love her, but he found it difficult to utter those words when he had to lie to her almost constantly. He felt as though he might cheapen them somehow if he said them to much.

Kurama went to his room and went to bed where he laid wide-awake. He waited until he was certain that Shiori was asleep. Then he got up and quickly dressed. He slipped out of his bedroom and into the darkness of the night heading in the direction of the school.

Thanks to his speed, Kurama made it to the school in only a few minutes. Kurama circled around the school hoping to find a door that a careless janitor had left unlocked. To his delight, the gym door had been left unlocked.

Kurama went inside and carefully closed the door after himself. He walked down the halls quickly until he got to the office. Kurama found that door was locked, but it was simple to pick.

He went inside and switched on the computer. It asked for a password, and after a couple of wrong guesses, Kurama figured it out. Within moments Kurama had found the information he was looking for. There were a total of six girls that had just recently come to this school: Takara Honda, Ai Mizu, Yumi Takeda, Noriko Takashi, Hanajima Takahashi, and most recently Sara Clark.

Kurama ordered the computer to print out all files pertaining to these girls. While waiting he scanned over them on the computer. While doing so he noticed something odd about Sara's records. She had an unusual amount of absences from her old school. Kurama did some quick math in his head. She averaged about two absences a week.

"How did she pass her classes being gone that often?" Kurama murmured.

Kurama studied her files more closely. It seemed her absences were due to illness, or so the report said. Curious, Kurama studied her grades. They were either high C's or low B's, no doubt due her frequent absences. With grades like that Kurama found it surprising that she had managed to pass the entrance exams.

Kurama looked up her parents' information. Her father was Harold Clark, an American that had moved to Japan apparently. His occupation wasn't listed, making Kurama wonder if he even had one. But surely he must, otherwise they wouldn't be able to afford tuition. Her mother's name was Kyoko Clark. According to these records, she had been legally declared deceased, which meant they didn't know what had really happened to her, she had disappeared.

"Interesting."

Kurama found himself wondering a bit about Kyoko's name. It was a bit of a strange name for humans, although it was a very common name amongst kitsunes.

"Very interesting indeed."

Kurama turned off the computer and picked up the papers that he had printed off. He would study them in greater detail later. Kurama made sure everything was as he had found it in the office and then left.

* * *

Jack almost shook with his rage. It had been a simple plan, and it could have easily ended Yoko Kurama's life. All the yokai had needed to do was stab Yoko Kurama in the back before he'd realized the deception, but no, she'd wanted to drag it out, make things dramatic.

Jack could appreciate wanting things to be dramatic. He had a dramatic flair himself. However, when it came to being simple and succeeding or being dramatic and failing Jack would choose to be simple every time.

Jack became aware that the servant who had been delivering his food when Jack had received this bad news was trying to slink out of the room. Jack's hand snaked out and gripped the unfortunate yokai's throat. "Where do you think you're going?" Jack snarled.

The yokai might have responded if Jack had been allowing air to make it to his lungs. If.

"Really, Master, is it necessary to kill someone every time you receive bad news?" asked a voice coming from the mirror hanging on Jack's wall.

"No," Jack said allowing himself to enjoy the look of terror and feeble attempts at freedom the yokai made as Jack slowly strangled him. "But it does make me feel better."

"It is such a waste though."

"Would it make you feel better if I let you eat him instead?"

"Maybe. At least then it wouldn't be a complete waste." Jack didn't have to be looking at the mirror to know the man's ever-present smile had taken a feral tinge when he'd replied.

Jack dropped he yokai when the light in his eyes finally died. He turned his attention to the mirror. "Caius, I want that girl. I _need_ her. Failure is not an option. You will get her for me, and you will get rid of any obstacles you might face. At the moment Yoko Kurama is the biggest threat as he is the closest to her."

"I understand Master. I will do my best, but this could take some time."

Jack nodded. He didn't like waiting, but he knew the price of acting too soon. That price was what had put him in his present predicament. "Just make sure you don't fail, Caius. You might be more valuable than my other minions, but you too are expendable."

There was a brief silence. "I understand Master."


	6. Chapter 6

Redone and edited! We own our original characters only.

* * *

Sara walked down the sidewalk, her feet dragging. She didn't want to return home. She knew that only pain awaited her there.

Eventually her reluctant steps landed her outside her house. She stared at the doorway filled with trepidation. Suddenly she was gripped with the wild idea to just turn around and run. To take off and never come back.

As quickly as the idea had come, it left. Where would she go? No one would want to take her in, and she had no way to support herself. She was trapped.

Her heart heavy, Sara walked up the stairs and into the house. She slipped her shoes off and started for the stairs, but Harold shouted for her.

"Girl! Make me and Gloria some food."

Sara resisted a sigh. Those were always the first words she heard as soon as she got home. Perhaps she should just go to the kitchen the moment she got home.

"Yes sir."

She walked in the kitchen and opened the fridge seeing what she could make for them. To her dismay there was very little. It seemed that no one had gone grocery shopping today.

She opened the pantry hoping to find a bit more, but she was once again disappointed. Sara wasn't sure how she was supposed to make a meal for both her father and Gloria with what little they had.

She pulled a bag of rice out of the pantry. That was a start at least. She got the rice cooking before turning her attention to what else she might find. Searching the fridge, she discovered that there were just enough ingredients to make two omelets. Sara just hoped that they wouldn't mind eating breakfast foods in the afternoon.

Harold wouldn't care, she knew, so long as the food was edible. It was Gloria that worried her.

Sara moved around the kitchen with the practiced ease of one who is used to such things, though she was unaware of it. She was thinking about the day rather than what she might have to face soon.

She turned the incident with the bullies over in her head. She was going to have to be more careful about Kit to make sure that didn't happen again.

Remembering the bullies brought into her mind about how Suichi had rescued her. Sara frowned. She didn't know what to make of that. No one had ever bothered to help her before, and Sara hadn't thought that that would ever change.

_Could it be,_ Sara wondered, _that Suichi is the sort of person who would become my friend?_

Sara stood still, letting the wonder of that thought fill her with an emotion she hadn't felt in years. It was hope. Hope that she might not be quite as horrible as Harold always said she was; hope that she might not be quite so unlovable.

As soon as Sara realized what she was thinking, she shook her head to get rid of the thoughts, and desperately tried to smother the hope she had felt inside. Hope only made the pain she had to endure worse. Better the numbness that she kept than hope.

_It's stupid of me to think that Suichi might become my friend. I doubt he would even remember my name if someone asked him. His saving me today was just a fluke. I'm sure of it._

Sara put the matter out of her mind, determined not to think about it again. But there was something that Sara didn't realize. Hope is one of the most durable emotions that people feel, and it takes extreme measures to destroy it. So even though Sara had done a good job of smothering it, a small spark of hope still flickered deep inside her heart.

Sara brought out full plates of food for Harold and Gloria. Without looking into their faces she handed them the plates.

"What is this?" demanded Gloria, her voice rough from all the cigarettes that she smoked.

Sara cringed. It seemed that Gloria wasn't happy with breakfast food. But what could Sara say? She couldn't state the obvious and say that it was an omelet and rice, as that would only get her into trouble. She also couldn't say that it was the only food left in the house because _someone_ had neglected to go shopping. Her only option was to say nothing.

Turns out, saying nothing was a bad idea too.

Gloria threw the plate of food at her, and Sara barely managed to duck in time. "Answer me when I ask you a question you little brat!"

A part of Sara's brain noted that Gloria was actually shorter than Sara herself, but the majority of her brain ignored that for the moment.

Crouched in front of Gloria where she had ducked, Sara said, "I'm sorry." It was all she could think of.

Sara twisted away so that she caught the kick Gloria was sending at her in her side instead of her face, as had been Gloria's intent. The kick winded her, but Sara still forced her uncooperative body to fold into a ball using her arms to shield her head.

Gloria kicked and screamed at her for what felt like an eternity. "You stupid piece of trash!" Gloria snarled. "Get out of my sight!"

Those were the words that Sara had been waiting for. Moving as quickly as her bruised and battered body would let her, Sara scampered out of the living room and up the stairs, pausing only to grab her book bag as she passed it. She raced to her room and shut the door. Not for the first time, Sara wished that she had a lock on her door.

Even without the lock, Sara doubted they would try to follow her. Too much effort on their part. Sara retreated to the bathroom that was connected to her room. She pulled up her shirt and looked into the mirror to asses her wounds. She could see the bruises forming on her torso. She comforted herself on the fact that it hadn't been Harold that had delivered the beating. As bad as Gloria was, Harold's beatings were worse.

Sara walked back into her room and pulled Kit out of her bag. She hugged the worn toy tightly to her chest.

"One day we'll get out of here," she whispered to comfort him, though the words rang hollow in her own ears. "Don't worry Kit, you needn't cry." Sara wiped the tears from her face. "We'll be fine, you'll see."

Sara set him down gently on the bed and walked to her window. Sitting on the sill was a cracked cup filled with dirt and holding one tiny tulip. "Hey, Tulip. How was your day? Good?" Sara smiled at the flower. "Wonderful. I bet you're thirsty after sitting in the sun all day."

Sara went back to her bathroom and got a handful of water out of the sink. She went back to the tulip and gently let the water fall into the dirt. A small portion leaked out of the crack in the cup.

"There, that's better isn't it?"

Sara watched as the water slowly soaked into the dirt. "I bet you're lonely aren't you?" She gently stroked the leaves. "If I can find another container I promise I'll bring you a friend, okay?"

Sara imagined that the flower nodded at her, understanding her promise. She leaned down and gently brushed her lips against the petals of the flower.

She spent her afternoon in that manner, alternating her conversation between Kit and the tulip. She also cleaned, though in her tidy room there was little for her to tend to. By eight thirty she was bored enough to go to bed and sleep.

_Sara was walking through the most beautiful garden she had ever seen. It was filled to overflowing with exotic plants, most of which Sara couldn't name. It was tame enough to have thin pathways, but wilder than any garden Sara had before imagined._

_"Sara!"_

_Her head jerked around. That voice…It couldn't be._

_"Sara!"_

_Sara's legs began to move faster, and soon she was running. She tore around a corner and came to a small clearing in the garden. Sara stumbled to a stop and stared in shock at the figure in front of her._

_"Mama?"_

_Kyoko Clark smiled down at her, her beautiful face filled with joy, and yet she looked sad too._

_Sara threw her arms around her mom and held onto her for dear life. She felt Kyoko's arms wrap her in the loving embrace she hadn't felt since she was a toddler._

_"Oh, Sara, my baby girl, you've grown so much."  
"I miss you Mama."_

_"I miss you too, sweetheart." Kyoko cupped Sara's face forcing her to look up at her. "I love you so much, and I'm so sorry you have experienced so much pain in your life. I've always tried to look out for you, but I haven't done a very good job of it."_

_Kyoko placed her hands on Sara's shoulders and pushed Sara back a step or two._

_"Mama?" Sara asked._

_"There is someone else now that will look after you. He will stay with you, and do a better job of protecting you than I ever could."_

_Kyoko pushed Sara farther back, and this time Sara felt new arms wrap around her waist and pull her away from Kyoko. Sara leaned towards her Mama, desperate._

_"Mama, no! Don't leave me Mama, I love you!"_

_Kyoko smiled again as she began to glow. A sudden change took place, Kyoko's long brown hair turned to a dark shade of green, brown fox ears appeared on her head, and a long brown foxtail cured around her legs._

_"I love you too, Sara." Then she disappeared._

_Sara stared at the space that Kyoko had occupied a moment before, and jumped slightly when she felt a hand brush away the tears that traced her cheeks. Sara turned to see who it was that was holding her so gently, and was shocked to see Suichi's gentle green eyes looking down at her._

_"Don't worry, Sara," he said. "I promise, I'll always take care of you."_


	7. Chapter 7

This chapter has been redone.

* * *

Kurama woke up with a gasp. That dream was strange…if he could even call it a dream. He had appeared in a garden, the likes of which he hasn't seen in years. It was a kitsune's garden, wild and beautiful. There were small paths wandering the garden, barely holding back the growth of enthusiastic plants…

_He heard voices close by and wandered over to them. To his surprise, his new classmate, Sara, was there with a woman that looked like her mother speaking to her. He couldn't quite understand their words, there was a strange roaring noise filling his ears, a noise that sounded like hundreds of people crying the same thing._

_"__**Protect her! Protect the last of our line.**__" The voices filled his head, then his arms were filled with Sara as she was pushed into him. Through the rising voices he could vaguely hear Sara crying something and her mother replying, but holding Sara close as she struggled and hearing the voices were taking all of his attention. _

_The voices rose to one last crescendo of "__**Protect her!**__" then all was silent. He could feel Sara trembling and sobbing in his arms. Gently he reached to her face, to her tears and tenderly wiped them away. Sara spun in his arms to face him. _

_"It's okay. I have you now." He whispered soothingly._

Kurama splashed his face with cold water. The dream had just been so strange, why was he dreaming of Sara, the girl he'd only seen twice?

The dream was still weighing on his mind as he walked to school. Before he knew it, Kaito was walking beside him and giving him funny looks. Kaito reached out, stopping him with an arm across the chest. Now it was Kurama's turn to give him a funny look.

"What?" He asked with a slightly annoyed tone of voice, after all he was just rudely interrupted from his musings.

"The world's not in danger of ending or anything, is it?" Kaito asked in a completely dead serious tone of voice.

"No, not that I know of." Kurama gave Kaito a funny look again, "Why do you ask?"

Kaito shrugged his shoulders, "Your face is like a thundercloud, and you're almost stomping," he holds up a finger before Kurama can interrupt, "I said _almost_ stomping. Anyways, I was wondering if there was something going on at your 'job'."

Kurama shook his head, "No, nothing like that. I just had some …trouble sleeping last night."

Kaito was about to continue his questioning when Maya joined them on their walk to school.

"Hi guys. So today in biology the teacher is supposed to give us that major grade project today. I heard that it's a group project." She wormed her way between the two guys, linking arms with each of them. "I sure hope I get one of you two as my partner!"

Kurama and Kaito exchanged twin looks of long-suffering.

* * *

The day at school began normally. Kurama reported to his first class of the day, to which he was early just like every other day at school. As he was waiting for the students of the first class to come in, he noticed that Sara was not flocking in with the rest of the students.

_She may not come, _he reasoned to himself, _after all, she did skip out yesterday before the classes had even started. Besides, _he scolded himself, _just because I had a dream about her doesn't mean that there is some kind of special connection between us. Today is going to be a normal day of looking for the rogue demon._

Class had been going on for about fifteen minutes when Sara finally entered into the classroom. She was wearing a school uniform, which looked brand new. Kurama nodded to himself, she had just received her uniform—the reason for her lateness was explained, and it also served to remind him that he needed to call Yusuke and let him know of the developments of yesterday in the alley. Kurama made a mental note to do just that and proceeded to zone out the rest of the lesson. After all, he didn't need to learn it, he already knew it.

It was lunch time and Maya once again brought Sara to the lunch table to eat with Kurama and Kaito. Maya was chatting about many things, many random things. However, Kurama wasn't paying attention to Maya; he was watching Sara out of the corner of his eye. He had noticed that she was flinching a lot that day, and wondered if it might be due to the fact that she had skipped school yesterday and was waiting for someone's response. She had already told them that she was a shy girl.

"Who do you want to be paired with Sara?" Maya's voice interrupted his musings.

At that point Kurama actually looked directly at Sara for the first time during lunch. She had no food in front of her, and she looked like she was a little hungry.

"For what?" Sara questioned Maya. Maya then went into a spiel about the biology project and how no one knew what it was it was about, but it would count as a major grade, and was said to be a group project. While Maya was going on about it, Kurama subtlety moved his food in front of Sara. Sara sent him a quick grateful look and started eating.

When Maya finally finished explaining about the project, Sara quickly swallowed the food she was eating, "I would rather work by myself."

Maya gasped, "Why? It would be so much easier with a partner!"

Sara gave a tiny shrug, "I just like working by myself better."

Just as Maya opened her mouth to argue her point more, the end of lunch bell rung—sending students scattering everywhere. Kurama lost sight of Sara in the crowd.

_Oh well, _Kurama sighed to himself,_ I will talk to her later. It does no good to try to talk when Maya's around._

The class was talking excitability amongst themselves, with good reason; it was the last class of the day and they were getting a project assigned today.

Kurama sighed again and turned to Sara, "What do you think this project could be about?"

She just shrugged her shoulders, seeming extremely nervous to be talking to him. Kurama was going to pursue the topic, but the teacher entered at that moment.

"Listen up class!" The teacher clapped her hands, gaining the classes attention. "I know that you are all excited about the project that I'm assigning today, so I'll get right to the point. I'm assigning you each a partner. Each team will then pick a plant or animal to research and present to the class. I want information like food, behavior, ecosystems, biospheres, what we use them for, everything you can find. The presentation will need to be about ten minutes long. I'll assign you partners, then you will have the rest of the class period to discuss what species you wish to present."The teacher picked up a list and began calling out partners.

Kurama toned her out until he heard his name.

"Suichi Minamino and Sara Clark."

Kurama turned to Sara, smiling, but paused when he saw the look on her face. It was one of fear, but at the same time one of hope. He thought hard, but couldn't think of a reason for Sara to fear him; all his actions towards her had been nothing but kind.

_Another mystery to tack to the already numerous mysteries surrounding her._

The teacher finished calling out the list; Kaito and Maya had ended up paired up together, just as Maya had wanted. "Now discuss and decide with you partners, and remember, have fun!"

Kurama spoke to Sara, "So what would you like to do the project on?"

He received another tiny shrug in response.

"Is there an animal that you especially like?"

He noticed that her hand strayed to her backpack, "Foxes."

Kurama gave her a friendly smile, "That's cool, I like foxes too. I'm sure that we can put together an excellent presentation together for the class."

Sara nodded her head.

"I have an idea, why don't we go to me house this afternoon and go ahead and start on the research part of the project." Kurama finished his reasons in his thoughts, _and I can get to know you better; you are a suspect for the current case._ He was careful not to mention the dream, not even in the privacy of his own thoughts; the dream after all was just a dream and nothing more.

Sara agreed to the plan quickly. It seemed that she wanted to finish the project quickly. They discussed a bit more about the project, oblivious to the time passing. The sudden ringing of the bell finally clued them in that it was time to go.

Kurama smiled at Sara again, "Well, I guess that its time to go to my house then."


	8. Chapter 8

We don't own YYH.

This chapter has been redone.

* * *

Sara nervously walked beside Suichi on the sidewalk. She was going to his house, his actual house! She bit her lip, worrying, _I know his family probably won't like me, no one really does, but what if they did…_ Sara shook her head sharply, accidentally gaining the attention of Suichi.

"Is something wrong, Sara?"

Sara blushed, realizing what she had done. "No, I was… I was just thinking about the project."

Suichi gave her a long look, long enough to make Sara wonder if he could read minds. Finally, he turned away and continued the conversation.

"Yes, well the project should be pretty interesting; both of us, after all, like foxes, and they are such fascinating creatures that we should have no problem putting a presentation together."

Sara noticed that so far he had made no mention of Kit and was grateful for his tact.

"We're here, welcome to my home, Sara," said Suichi.

A part of her mind noticed that he said home, not house as she did, but the rest was caught up in admiring the beautiful garden in front of her.

"The garden is beautiful," Sara gasped.

Suichi smiled at her, nearly glowing with pride. "Thank you," Suichi said.

Sara looked up at him. "Did you do all that by yourself?"

Suichi shook his head. "No, my Mother helps me."

He led her past the garden; only then did she really notice the house. It was in good shape, not at all like the place she stayed in. Suichi opened the door with a smile and gestured for Sara to precede him, which she did with a blush—no one had ever held doors open for her before. They slipped their shoes off once inside and Kurama showed Sara where she could place her backpack.

"Mother, I'm home."

"I'm in the kitchen, Suichi," called a woman's voice from the kitchen. Sara followed him there.

There they found a woman with black hair and brown eyes, pulling a batch of cookies out of the oven. She smiled at Sara. "Oh, hello. I'm Shiori. What is your name?"

Sara smiled shyly. "Hello, my name is Sara."

Shiori put the cookies onto a plate. "I'm glad to meet you, Sara. Would you like a cookie? Have as many as you want; you're really too thin."

Sara blushed and accepted the offered cookie. Though she kept her eyes down, she could feel Suichi's gaze on her, and she wondered what he saw when he looked at her. Did he see a scrawny, worthless girl? Or did he see someone he would make his friend?

* * *

Shiori rejoiced in her heart as she placed two glasses of milk on the table, along with the plate of cookies. Her son finally brought a girl over to the house!

However, her jubilation was short-lived has she began noticing things about Sara. She hands would tremble occasionally and she was constantly glancing around the room. Even when Shiori or Suichi spoke to her, never once did she look them in the eyes. The child was wearing a turtleneck underneath her school uniform and knee-high socks that meet her knee length skirt.

Shiori's eyes narrowed; there was someone hurting this child. She saw the symptoms in her job; after all, she worked with abused children everyday. Nonetheless, even if she knew that Sara was being hurt, there was nothing that she could do to help her unless she somehow had proof of what was happening, or the girl came forward of her own will. Shiori had to stop herself from snorting, not wanting to attract attention to herself. Abuse victims, especially children, almost never came forward, they had had it beat into them that they weren't worth it and no one cared about them anyways.

Shiori frowned mentally, scheming while still chatting with Sara and Suichi, she could talk to Suichi, tell him her suspicions. He could become friends with the girl—Lord knows that she probably needed one—and maybe Sara would trust him and ask him to help.

Suichi and Sara finished their snack and went to Suichi's room to work on the project they had. Shiori watched them go up the stairs and nodded her head. Yes, that was a good plan. She smirked mischievously; it had the added benefit of appealing to Suichi's heart and getting him to make a friend that was a girl. With a lightened heart, Shiori started on dinner.

* * *

Sara watched Suichi as he wrote all their ideas down on paper. They had been working on the project for quite a bit now, from as soon has they reached the room in fact. Suichi had some books related to foxes and it had been his suggestion that Sara read aloud from the book while he wrote notes on what they could use. Everything was working smoothly, and they were getting quite a bit of information to use.

"Dinner's ready! Come on down!"

The shout made Sara jump out of her chair with fright. Slowly she calmed her heart down, knowing that Suichi was giving her a worried look. _It's okay Sara; it's just Mrs. Shiori calling for dinner…DINNER!!! _Sara suddenly realized what time it was. She had been so caught up in the project and spending time with someone that she wasn't completely afraid of that she had lost track of time. Harold was not going to be happy.

"I'm sorry Suichi, I have to go!" She said this in a rush and ran down the stairs, past Suichi's mom, slipped on her shoes, grabbed her bag and was out the door before Suichi could come fully down the stairs, or Mrs. Shiori could say anything. As she ran down the road, she berated herself for being so _stupid_ as to forget the time.

Sara opened the door quietly, hoping to sneak in, however that hope was shattered as her father's fist slammed into the side of her face. She fell back, hitting her head against the doorframe. Harold then dragged her up by her hair until her face was inches away from his.

"You were supposed to come home right after school," he growled. "You're always supposed to come home after school! You have nowhere to go to and no one that would care about you. The only reason you're even alive is 'cause you're useful! Never forget that girl! You're no one, nothing. I'm the only one who even cares if you're alive and that might not last much longer. And if you won't obey me, then you won't go to school!" He threw her down and began to kick and hit her, not even caring to pay attention to where his blows landed.

Sara curled up in a ball, trying to protect her head. After a while, Harold tired of beating her and walked off. Sara lay on the ground for a few minutes, trembling, and then dragged herself upstairs. She went into the bathroom and looked at her reflection. She had bruises on her face this time. She had a black eye, a busted lip, and a bloody nose as well. Of course, the usual bruises all over the rest of her body, as usual.

Her father was right, she would not be going to school for a while. However, he was wrong about one thing. She hugged herself carefully—mindful of the bruises; there was someone that might be her friend. That someone was Suichi Minamino.


	9. Chapter 9

Kurama made it to his front door just in time to see Sara disappear around the corner of the road. He had not expected her to rush off like that. The way she had suddenly panicked had been so unexpected.

"What happened?" Shiori asked.

Kurama shook his head. "I'm not sure Mother. When you called us for dinner she suddenly panicked and said she had to go."

Shiori stared into the distance with a frown on her face. "I'd hoped she'd stay for dinner," she said, almost to herself. "Suichi, have you noticed anything odd about Sara at school?"

"Odd how?" Kurama asked, instantly on guard.

"Has she ever mentioned her home life?" Shiori asked instead of directly answering him.

"No," Kurama said, trying to understand where she was going with this line of questioning.

"Is she easily startled or frightened?"

Kurama thought it over. "Yes, I would say so. Why are you asking these questions Mother?"

Shiori sighed. "I can't say it with one hundred percent certainty, but I think Sara is being abused."

Kurama felt a moment of relief. Of course, Shiori would not be thinking Sara might be anything other than human. Kurama himself did not yet know whether or not she was the hanyou. To think Shiori might suspect anything was not only ridiculous, it bordered on paranoid. Then her words registered completely.

"Abused?" he repeated dumbly.

Shiori nodded. "She's showing all the symptoms, for those of us who know how to look. But I can't do anything unless I get proof or she comes for help. Unfortunately, she isn't likely to come forward of her own accord."

Kurama frowned. Her being abused would explain almost everything that had confused him about her. However, the idea of someone hurting her angered him more, he realized, than it should have.

Of course, the idea of anyone as helpless as Sara being hurt would make him mad. Kurama was just that sort of person. Nevertheless, there was an edge to this anger he could not explain.

"Suichi."

Kurama turned his attention back to his mother.

"I want you to try and get close to her. If she trusts you, she might come to you for help, or you might find the proof we need to get her out of this situation."

Kurama nodded. "Yes, Mother, I will certainly do my best."

They sat down to dinner then, eating in silence. When they were done, Kurama helped Shiori do the dishes and then retreated to his room.

Kurama pulled out the files he had taken from the school. He had yet to study them in detail, and he needed a distraction.

By studying them closely, he was able to eliminate all the girls but Sara. There were simply too many things about the other girls that would not match up with a hanyou, one of them being that they all had both parents. One thing that Kurama was certain of was that the hanyou must not have both parents, as any yokai living in the Human Realm would have been discovered long ago. This lent suspicion towards Sara, as her mother was missing.

_However, if Sara is the hanyou, should I not have noticed something by now?_

_**Not if she doesn't know she's a hanyou.**_

Kurama was startled by the voice in his mind. Yoko did not often speak to him, and when he did, it was almost never about missions.

_How could she not know what she is?_

_**Yusuke didn't know what he was.**_

_Yusuke was not a normal hanyou._

_**Perhaps her mother sealed her yokai half up before she disappeared.**_

Kurama mused over that statement. It was possible. However, there was the question of why.

Sara's mother's name was Kyoko. As he had observed before, it was a common name amongst kitsunes, so if she were a yokai, she would be a kitsune. If that was the case, then things got even more confusing. Kitsunes had strong family ties, and for her to leave her kit would not be normal.

_**If the father abuses Sara, might he not also have harmed Kyoko?**_

Possible, though unlikely. Kitsunes were not hurt easily by humans.

_**Anyone can be harmed when taken by surprise.**_

That was true enough. Kurama could think of two possible scenarios. Kyoko was a kitsune, and had deserted Sara against all instincts of their race and gone back to Makai, or Kyoko was a kitsune and somehow Harold had managed to kill her, and kept their daughter. However, before her death Kyoko must have—for some unknown reason—sealed away Sara's kitsune half.

Both scenarios seemed far-fetched, but Kurama found himself leaning towards the second. No kitsune mother would ever leave her young willingly. Of course, there was always the possibility that he was completely wrong and Sara was just a normal girl.

_**Her being the hanyou is the only way to explain the dream.**_

Was that why Yoko was interested? Because of that dream?

_You think that actually meant something?_

Yoko snorted. Must he explain everything?_** Of course it meant something. Didn't you feel the energies that caused it?**_

Well, no, he had not noticed them actually.

_**You are an idiot. That 'dream' was caused by a psychic. Or, psychics, I should say. They weren't very powerful on their own; I think they were all dead. That's why they had to work together to get into our mind.**_

So the dream had been caused by dead psychic kitsunes. They were most probably Sara's ancestors, which would explain the whole, 'protect the last of our line' thing. Who did they want to protect her from? Her father?

_**Not just him.**_ Yoko brought back the memory of the attack in the ally. _** Someone's after her.**_

Again the questions arise, who was after her, and why? At this point Kurama did not have a clue. However, he was fairly well convinced that she was the hanyou by this point.

_I must get up with the others tomorrow and speak with them about this._

It was still a little before nine. Yusuke should be at home, and not yet in bed. Kurama went to the living room to get the phone and call Yusuke.

Yusuke finally answered after the fifth ring. "Yeah, what?"

Kurama did not comment on Yusuke's lack of manners. "Hello, Yusuke, it's me."

"Oh, Kurama, what's up? Did you find out something about our mission?"

"Yes, I have. How about we meet everyone at the usual place tomorrow after school?"

"Sounds good to me. I'll get up with Kuwabara and you find Hiei."

"Very well. I'll see you tomorrow."

Kurama hung up the phone, wished Shiori a good night, and went to bed. Something told him the next day would be a long one.

* * *

On the way to school the next day, Kurama gave Kaito a quick synopsis of their mission and his belief that Sara might be the hanyou, figuring that it would be helpful to have someone else be able to keep an eye on Sara as well. He also included his suspicions that her father might be abusing her. Kurama would rather have left that part out, but there did not seem to be a way to, as her abuse figured in on his theories.

"Well," Kaito said, "Sara's turning out to be far more interesting than I thought she would."

Kurama nodded. "Indeed."

Further conversation was cut short with Maya's arrival. It was somewhat irritating for Kurama, but he did not let Maya know. After all, she could not help what she did not know she was doing.

They got to school and Kurama went to his first class. He was slightly surprised to find Sara was not in the classroom.

_Perhaps she is just late._

Kurama had to give up on that idea when she did not show up halfway through the class. She was obviously not coming.

_What happened? She was just fine when she left my home yesterday._

That thought brought back memories of her panic when she had left and Kurama felt his stomach tighten. Had her father hurt her because she had gotten home late? The idea was entirely too plausible.

Kurama felt a sudden need to leave the school. He wanted to make sure Sara was okay, and he was surprised by the strength of that want. It did not make sense when he had only known her a few days.

_**You really are an idiot.**_

Kurama had to stop his eyes from narrowing. What did Yoko know that he did not?

_**You should ask what I don't know. The list would be much shorter.**_

Kurama was starting to recall why he had liked it when Yoko did not speak to him.

_What do you know about Sara that I do not?_

_**When the kitsunes said for us to protect Sara, it wasn't just a request, it was an order. They created a bond between us and Sara that compels us to protect her, which likely means she had a dream similar to ours.**_

That would explain why Yoko was suddenly so interested in this mission. He did not have a choice. Kurama felt a spark of anger. He had nothing against helping Sara; he was however upset at being manipulated into helping her. Unfortunately, he had no one to take his anger out on. After all, it was not Sara's fault. She probably did not even know what had been done. The people who had done the bonding were all dead, so he could not do anything to them. The situation left Kurama frustrated, but there was nothing he could do but accept it for now.

* * *

The school day dragged by slowly, and Kurama was more and more tempted to skip. He held himself in check however. When it finally did end, he rushed out the front doors, intent on finding Sara.

_**You're forgetting your little meeting with the others.**_

Kurama cursed in his mind. He had forgotten about it. Then he sensed Hiei nearby, most likely waiting for him. Kurama casually walked in the direction Hiei was, and Hiei appeared by his side at some point.

"We have a meeting this afternoon," Kurama told him. "The usual place. However, some unexpected business has come up for me, so I will be late."

Hiei nodded. "Fine. I'll tell the detective and the idiot."

Hiei was gone before Kurama could voice his thanks. Kurama turned his thoughts once more to finding Sara. He knew her address thanks to her school records, and after asking one or two strangers, he found her neighborhood.

It turned out to be that trashy neighborhood he had wandered into the other day after receiving this mission. Kurama was not exactly surprised that she lived in a place like this, though it certainly did not make him happy.

Kurama found with a slight sense of irony that the same run down, two-story house he had studied was the one Sara lived in. Kurama sniffed the air, and his lip curled in an unconscious snarl at the scent of Sara's blood.

_Someone is going to pay!_


	10. Chapter 10

Crazy here, letting all of you know that this chapter has been redone.

And no, we don't own YYH.

* * *

Kurama headed towards the front of the house, only to stop and shake his head.

_What am I thinking? Going into a house with no knowledge of the inhabitants or the layout? I have slacked off in the years._

Kurama changed his course to the side of the house. There, growing with a wild abandon, were plants and a tree that conveniently shielded him from the sight of anyone in the streets. He peeked into a window that looked into the kitchen—which was definitely not in the best shape, but it did match the rest of the house.

Inside the kitchen there was no sign of people, but through the doorway in the kitchen—that apparently lead into the living room—was a TV that was on, blaringly so, and he could make out the sounds of a man and woman laughing at the show.

_Maybe Sara is in her room_, Kurama though to himself, _after all I can not exactly see her willing staying with in the same room with a man that physically abuses her._ However, the scent of her blood was strong coming through the window. _I scout out the lower level to find out if she is there, then the upper level if I have no success. _

Kurama went around to the back of the house and found exactly what he was looking for, an unlocked back door. He gently and ever so slowly opened the door, warily listening for creak or squeaks. Lord Luck was with him though, as he was able to open the door wide enough for him to sneak though without the door making any noise. He carefully walked into the house, avoiding any boards that looked suspicious to him. Not in a long time had he been so thankful for his past.

There was no sign of Sara anywhere in the house, there were no pictures of any type hanging on the walls, only peeling, fading wallpaper. In the hall that Kurama stood in the only things on the floor were beer cans and roaches that scurried at his approach. The TV was even louder now, but Kurama could also pinpoint the two humans in the living room more easily.

Kurama continued in the direction of the front of the house, in the direction from which the smell of Sara's blood was the strongest. He could see the back of a stairwell, and then the scent of blood became even stronger. There, between the stairwell and the front door, was a small bit of dried blood. Kurama checked to make sure that he was not visible to the occupants of the living room, and then knelt to check the age of the spill.

There was not a large amount, not nearly enough to be life threatening, but the mere presence of it in a house were a child should be protected and loved was enough to set his blood boiling. Added to that was the fact that it was Sara's blood and he could almost hear the whispered voices of the physic kitsunes in his ear. A breeze blew through the house and Kurama caught the scent of more blood.

There was a trail of small blood droplets leading up the stairs. His breath caught in his throat as he noticed the bloody handprints on the railing and one every now and then on the steps themselves. His lips lifted in a soundless snarl. The brute that was Sara's father had left her to haul herself up to her room after beating her. Kurama wished with all of his might that he could have the beast alone in Makai for just a few minutes. However, he had a mission right now and that was to get Sara out of this place.

Kurama carefully climbed the staircase, smiling grimly. Who would have ever guessed that he would be using the same skills that gained him the title of "The King of Thieves" to rescue an abused hanyou? He quickly climbed to the top. There was a hallway stretched out before him with a few doors, but he ignored most of the doors in favor of the one that had Sara's scent all over it. He swiftly walked over to the door and quietly opened it.

* * *

Sara jerked out of the nap she was taking at the sound of her door opening. She quickly rolled over to the side of the bed away from the door and stood up before her brain could even process what her eyes where telling her. There, instead of her father, stood Suichi. He looked out of place in her bedroom with its faded paint and grubby appearance. Her eyes opened wide and her mouth formed an "O". Suichi strode towards her.

"What?" She managed to say.

"I'm getting you out of here." Suichi firmly stated.

"You can't, he's my father." Then she called herself an idiot. _Here is someone, someone that could even turn into a friend, and you're telling him that he can't take you away from Harold! What kind of idiot are you? _"I mean, you could get in trouble."

Suichi paid her comment no mind. "Quickly, get all your things together. I do not know how long that slug will stay in the living room."

Sara found herself obeying him; even with all the questions she had flying around in her head. How did he find her? Why did he come rescue her? Moreover, the most important one, what would Harold do to Suichi when he found out?

* * *

Kurama observed Sara as she moved around the room throwing clothes and such into her backpack, which was apparently the only bag she owned. A piece of his mind noted that he would need to make sure that she went shopping soon, as the clothes outside of her school uniforms were old and could not possibly fit her right.

Kurama noticed that Sara had a split lip and the remnants of a bloody nose, as well as a black eye and a bruise about the size of a man's fist to complete the picture. His eyes traveled over the rest of her body. Unlike every previous time that he had seen her, she was wearing an ill-fitting tank top and shorts that looked that they have seen better times. Bruises littered her arms and legs. She grabbed the stuffed fox and a plant, a tulip, in a plastic cup off the windowsill.

Kurama saw that Sara had stopped moving.

"Is that everything?"

Sara nodded, and then gasped in horror, looking behind Kurama.

Kurama cursed himself for not paying more attention to his surroundings and spun around.

* * *

Sara could feel the cold chill of terror creeping up her spine. There, in her doorway, stood Harold, larger than life. Her eyes crept back to Suichi, who looked so small compared to the massive size of Harold. However, when she would have cowered, Suichi stood up straight, unafraid.

"What you think you're doing, you little piece of-" Harold was interrupted by a smooth tenor.

"Sara is coming with me, Mr. Clark. I'm afraid that you have been deemed as no longer able to care for your daughter."

"You're just a school kid! You can't take her."

"I dare you to stop me." The warning that chilled the air was apparently lost on Harold. He moved towards Suichi, clearly intending on grabbing him. Sara opened her mouth to cry a warning, only to have it die on her lips as Suichi moved faster than she would have thought possible. Somehow, her father ended up on the floor, with Suichi crouched over him, holding Harold's arms in a classic police submission hold.

"I know, Mr. Clark that you are familiar with this position, and are familiar with the feeling of handcuffs and have the knowledge of what usually follows. However, I will leave you here, with no restraints, as long as you do not get up until we are out of the house. Is that clear?"

Sara watched unbelieving as her father nodded his head in defeat. How did Suichi know that her father had had encounters with cops before? And how had Suichi gotten Harold on the ground so fast? There were some mysteries about her classmate.

Suichi made as if to stand up, but then paused. He knelt back beside Harold and whispered something in his ear. Sara was thrown into disbelief again as her father's face became a picture of terror. Suichi stood up all the way and gestured for Sara to precede him out the door. She timidly walked past Harold and Suichi and out of the door. She heard what sounded like a kick and a muffled yelp, but when she turned, all she saw was a smirking Suichi shutting the door to her room.

* * *

It was a quiet walk back to Kurama's house. He had taken Sara's bag from her, leaving only the tulip and the fox for her to carry. Sara looked to be wrapped up in her thoughts and that gave Kurama the chance to think on what happened at the house—and the possible repercussions from his actions. He did not think that Harold would report what had happened to anyone. Especially considering what he has whispered to the man before he left Sara's room.

"_I know what you did to your wife and I'm here for revenge. She was one of us." _

It was not exactly true, he did not know what happened to Kyoko and he was not there for revenge, mostly. However, the man's reaction confirmed what he suspected, that Harold had something to do with the woman's disappearance. Therefore, he was there for revenge, as Kyoko was a kitsune and kitsunes took care of each other, consequences be damned.

He also realized that it might not have been wise to let the man know that he was a kitsune, but there was no one that would believe him and it had served to intimidate the man. They had left out of the back door of the house, and therefore had not run into the woman that was still in the living room. Kurama smiled, remembering the plant that he had left to guard the house.

* * *

Sara walked beside Suichi on the walk to wherever he was taking her. She was gazing at the ground and working hard to gather the courage to ask him one of her many questions. Finally, she found her courage and glanced at Suichi to ask her question. However, the smile on his face froze the breath in her lungs. It reminded her of a character in a play that she had once read in school. The character had been the king of the fairies, a dark king of the Unseelie Court. She quickly looked to the ground again, reminding herself that the character had been a nice fairy deep inside, helping people to fall in love. She hoped that Suichi had the same kindness in him.

* * *

Shiori looked up from her knitting as the front door opened. To her surprise, Suichi walked in carrying a backpack not his own, followed by Sara. Shiori frowned; the poor girl looked as though she had been beaten, and recently.

"Shuichi? Sara?" she said questioningly. To her surprise and sorrow, Sara actually ducked behind Shuichi, crouching, almost as if she expected to be hit.

Shuichi sighed, "It is okay Sara. Mother will not hurt you; in fact she is going to make you feel better." Then he turned to Shiori, "Mother, your suspicions were right. I went to Sara's house after school to give her her homework and I found her like this." As he was talking, he was coming fully into the house, slipping off his shoes with Sara copying him.

"You poor child," Shiori said to Sara, gathering her in a hug. At first Sara was tense, and the reason why brought tears to Shiori's eyes. After a few seconds, Sara relaxed, and then Shiori could feel the shoulder of her shirt becoming damp as Sara started crying. It was a quiet sob, one full of desperation and longing. Shiori felt her heart break for this girl.

She gestured for Shuichi to leave while she took care of Sara. He did so, setting down what must have been Sara's bag down on the ground and slipping his shoes back on. He gave Shiori a sad smile and disappeared through the door. Shiori smiled, he was such a good boy, her only question was how he had known where Sara lived, but that could wait. For now, she had an abused child to take care of.

* * *

Kurama left his house smiling. His mother would help Sara; after all, she did change him from a cold-blooded thief into someone that saved the world. She would patch up Sara, and gain her trust as a bonus. He looked at his watch and sighed, he was already two hours and some odd minutes late for the meeting. Great.

* * *

Urameshi was fidgeting in his seat, looking around impatiently. Hiei was just sitting calmly in the wooden chair, the only sign of his distaste for the surrounding a tightening of his fists.

"Where is Kurama?" Urameshi finally burst out.

Kuwabara sighed. "I don't know Urameshi. No one does. I'm sure it's important; it is after all Kurama we're talking about."

"How come you're being so patient Kuwabara? Usually you're right here complaining with me." Urameshi asked with a glint in his eye.

"I dunno," Kuwabara shrugged, "I just have a feeling that whatever he's doing is pretty important."

"Well, I'm getting sick of waiting!" Urameshi stood up and slammed his hands on the table, gaining funny looks from the rest of the people in the restaurant.

Hiei spoke for the first time since informing them of Kurama's message. "Sit down, Detective. He's here."

At that moment, Kurama walked into the front door of the restaurant, barely having to look around before his eyes settled onto their table. Kuwabara noticed something was…off about him. There seemed to be an extra weight about him, as if he had a burden on his shoulders. He also noticed a slight change to his aura, the normal colors of red and silver were there, but there was a slight shade of brown to it now. Kuwabara narrowed his eyes; something big had happened to Kurama.

"Sorry I'm late guys, but I have big news. I found the hanyou."

Urameshi looked at him in amazement, "How in the world did you manage to do that?"

Kurama laughed gently, "I'll tell you the whole story."

Kurama told them of his suspicions, then the attack by the demon that looked like this girl Sara at his school.

"I believe that there is a group of demons after her, for what reason I do not know."

Urameshi had the "oh crap" look on his face and Kuwabara knew that he had the same look on his. The little shrimp had the same expression as always, boredom, while Kurama had his poker face on.

"There's more to tell."

Kurama continued to tell them of how he found Sara at her house; Kuwabara felt righteous anger rise in his chest at the thought of a helpless person being hurt. What was worse was a helpless _girl_ being hurt. Kuwabara didn't even like female fighters getting hurt. But he did notice that Kurama didn't go into any details about her injuries.

"Now she is at my house, in the care of my mother."

Kuwabara sensed that he hadn't told them the whole story, that he left something big out, but he had faith that Kurama would tell them the rest when they needed to know.

"So she doesn't know she's a kitsune hanyou?" Kuwabara ventured to say.

Kurama shook his head, "No, she has no clue. I will tell her, and then we can set up a date for all of you to meet her as well. Sound reasonable?"

The group nodded their heads in agreement.

"Good, now that that has been decided, let's eat!" Urameshi said, clapping his hands together.

"But we already ate Urameshi!" was Kuwabara's reply.

"So what? Waiting for Kurama to show made me hungry again."

Kurama smiled, "I have not had time to eat, so that sounds like a wonderful idea."

Kuwabara grumbled, but decided that he would stay and eat again as well, just to keep them company of course. Hiei had already disappeared, the ungrateful little shrimp.

* * *

It was growing dark outside. Shiori and Sara were alone in the house, chatting after the ordeal of fixing Sara up. The event had caused Shiori to become Sara's second favorite person in the world, right after Shuichi's place actually. However, neither one was aware of what lurked outside the house.

There was a man in the shadows across the street from the house; the man was being very careful to stay away from the plants in the kitsune's garden that could become vicious and warn his quarry if he got too close. The man observed for a minute more then stepped out of the shadows, into the last of the lingering light.

He was a tall man, with waist length hair that was pulled into one long braid down his back. His hair was black with a few gray streaks running through the length of it. His face was sharp, distinguished one might even say, with just a hint of a smile on his face that gave no clue to what was going on behind his hypnotic blue eyes. The man was clothed in loose fitting pants and shirt, with a black trench coat that covered most of his body.

He stared at the house for a few minutes more, and then walked down the street, heading for the local park. He received many stares, which he ignored with great aplomb; he was after all very used to people's astonishment at his appearance.

The man entered the park and came upon a fairly large, deep pond that resided in the park. He stood for a moment, admiring the light from the moon that had risen playing on the water's surface. He then swiftly reached down, choose a pebble, and tossed it into the water. Ripples spread, disturbing the smooth surface. Once they vanished, another man appeared in the water. It was Jack.

"Caius?" came Jack's voice from the pond.

The man, revealed to be Caius, knelt down on the ground. "Yes Master, it is I."

"Good. What have you to report?" Jack asked, almost growling.

"The girl has been taken to the kitsune's home, where she is now under his protection."

"Mmmm, that will make things harder, but, I believe, still in your capabilities. We had already decided to remove the fox."

"Yes Master."

"I have other servants attacking the communication lines between this world and Spirit World. I do not want that little princeling to know that the child is the hanyou, or the fact that someone is after her. Do what you must to get the girl, but do not fail me now."

"I have no intention of failing to capture the hanyou. I will defeat the kitsune using whatever methods I must."

Jack laughed; the sound seemed to drain some of the light from the world. "I do so love your ruthless ways Caius. Now return to your duties."

"As you wish Master." The waters cleared. Caius stood and disappeared into the night.


	11. Chapter 11

And here's the new chapter, written by Crazy! Edited and Redone! We do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, but we do own the Sara's Story plot line and our original characters, thanks.

* * *

Sara's eyes blinked open as the morning sunlight fell down on her face. Though it was morning, Sara found she didn't particularly want to move about; she was much too comfortable.

_Wait…My bed isn't this comfortable._

Alarmed, Sara sat up straight to be greeted by the cheery décor of Shiori's guest room.

_How did I end up here?_

Sara thought back to the day before, and finally remembered how Suichi had rescued her, and brought her to his house. She could faintly remember someone carrying her upstairs after she'd fallen asleep on the couch, but she couldn't say whether it had been Suichi or Shiori.

A gentle knock sounded on the door. Sara hesitated, and then called out, "Come in."

The door opened and Shiori stepped inside. She smiled at Sara. "Good morning, dear. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Sara said automatically. It wasn't quite true; she was still sore from her beating, but not as much as she usually was.

Shiori studied her face. "You know, I think your bruises have faded some. I must ask Suichi where he buys that cream, it really works wonders. Well, Suichi's going to start making breakfast soon, and I thought you might want a shower."

Sara nodded. "Yes, please."

Shiori showed her where the towels and washcloths were kept, and then left her on her own. Sara grabbed a pair of jeans and a turtleneck to wear for the day and went to the bathroom to shower.

As Sara stood under the steaming stream of water, she found herself relaxing for the first time in a long time.

_But how long is this going to last?_

As much as Sara wanted to believe that her life would have a fairy tale ending, and things would only get better from here on out, she couldn't. Pain and bitter disappointment had always dogged her life. Every time it had seemed like things might get better, they suddenly got worse. So while Sara wanted to believe that Suichi and Shiori would always care for her, she couldn't count on that.

_I've got to be smart about this. I'm away from Dad now, and I don't want to go back. I don't want to be trapped like that again. But what can I do to keep myself safe?_

Sara wasn't sure. These thoughts were mostly new to her.

_I need…I need to be ready to run if something bad happens. If I need to run away from here I'll need money, but I don't have any. How could I get some?_

Sara didn't know, and didn't particularly want to think about it at the moment. These thoughts were ruining her relaxed mood. She wouldn't worry about possibilities right now; she would just take things one day at a time.

When Sara went downstairs she found that Shiori had just finished setting the table. Shiori sent a smile in her direction. "Good timing Sara. Suichi just finished cooking pancakes."

Sara felt her mouth water. How many years had it been since she'd had pancakes? Sara had lost count. Briefly, she wondered if Suichi had somehow known that pancakes were her favorite food. After all, Suichi had known quite a few things he shouldn't have, like where she lived, and that Harold had had dealings with the police.

_I need to ask him about that,_ Sara thought as she sat at the table. _I have to ask him how he knew all those things._

Remembering the cold ease with which he had handled her father, Sara wasn't sure she could work up the courage.

"Good morning Sara."

Sara looked up to see Suichi walk in from the kitchen carrying a platter of chocolate chip pancakes. The smell made her mouth water again.

"Good morning," she said, her eyes following the food.

"Eat up," Shiori said as Suichi set the pancakes down on the table. "You could stand to put on a few pounds."

"Yes ma'am," Sara said as she put two pancakes on her plate. She took a bite, and her mouth was flooded with sweet flavor. Never had Sara had pancakes this wonderful. She blushed when she realized that she had called the pancakes wonderful out loud.

"Yes, they are good aren't they?" Shiori said laughing. "Suichi is quite the cook."

Sara looked over at Suichi blushing, but he merely smiled at her. "Yes, he is," Sara agreed shyly.

Sara ate in silence for a while. Being hungrier than she had realized, Sara soon ate four pancakes, and she felt very full, something that she wasn't used to.

"Sara," Shiori said. "I've been thinking that you need some new clothes. Since today is Saturday, why don't we head to the mall and go shopping?"

Sara's eyes widened and she shook her head. "Oh, no, that's really not necessary."

Shiori waved her hands in dismissal. "Please dear, have you really looked at your clothes recently? I'm buying you new clothes and that's final."

Sara nodded in reluctant acceptance. "Yes, ma'am."

Suichi stood and began to gather up the dishes. "I'll get the kitchen clean while you two get your day started."

Shiori sent him a grateful smile. "Thank you Suichi. Now come on Sara, we need to do something about those bruises on your face so they won't be so noticeable."

Shiori led the way to her bathroom and pulled out her make up. "Now let's see how we do…"

Ten minutes later Sara looked in the mirror and was surprised to see that her bruises were hardly noticeable. Shiori rested a hand on her shoulder. "Amazing what a bit of make up can do, isn't it? Now, I need to finish getting ready. I'll just be a minute, so why don't you wait downstairs?"

Sara went back downstairs and to the foyer. She could hear Suichi in the kitchen as she slipped on her shoes. Then she noticed the table, with the potted plant on it. By the plant lay a dollar and some change.

Sara glanced around. Suichi was in the kitchen, and Shiori was upstairs. They'd never miss just one dollar. Sara scooped up the money and tried to ignore the guilt she felt for doing so. The loss of one dollar wouldn't hurt them, they had plenty. Besides, Sara needed to be ready for anything, even the loss of these new friends.

* * *

Kurama watched as the car pulled away from the drive, and hoped that Sara and Shiori would have a good time shopping. He turned away from the door to head up to his room. He needed to get ready to go as well. He was planning to drop by Spirit World to update Koenma on the status of their mission. No doubt, the others had not thought to do so. In addition, Kurama had a more personal request to ask of him.

As Kurama was about to leave the foyer he realized the plant on the table was trying to get his attention. Kurama bent over before it. "Yes, what is it?"

"Thief," the little plant squeaked. "Thief!"

Kurama frowned. What thief? No one had broken in, Kurama would have sensed them if they had; not to mention the fact that the garden would be giving him a very loud alarm right about now if someone had broken in. That meant that the plant was talking about someone already in the house. It could not mean Kurama or Shiori; how could they steal from themselves? That only left Sara.

"You mean Sara? What did she steal?"

"Money, table, money," the plant replied.

The money on the table, Kurama mentally translated. He and Shiori both had a habit of putting whatever loose change they had in their pockets on the table by the door. It seemed that Sara had taken whatever little money had been there.

_But why would she steal from us?_

_**She probably doesn't completely trust us yet. You must remember how she was raised.**_

Yoko brought up a valid point. This really should not have caught him by surprise, but he had still hoped that Sara had more faith in him. However, he could not deal with this problem now. He would have to wait until he caught her in the act. Meanwhile he had his own business to attend to today.

* * *

Sara had stayed close to Shiori in the mall. She wasn't used to being so crowded, and she didn't want to be separated from Shiori.

"Um, Mrs. Shiori, are you sure I need so many things?" Sara asked. Shiori had already bought her four pairs of jeans, five long sleeve shirts, and a pair of new tennis shoes, and she was still looking for more things.

"Of course you do Sara," Shiori told her. "We don't even have one outfit for everyday of the week yet. We've got quite a bit of shopping left to do."

Shiori held up a jean skirt that would end just above Sara's knees with purple flowers stitched on it. "Oh, isn't this just so cute? I think you should try it on."  
Sara accepted the garment without an argument. It was a cute skirt, but Sara wasn't sure how good a skirt really looked on her. The only skirt she'd ever worn was the one for the school uniform, and Sara wasn't too fond of that one.

Sara scanned the racks half-heartedly and a shirt caught her eye. It was a white short-sleeved peasant blouse, with tiny purple flowers embroidered on the neck. It would, Sara thought, look good with the skirt that Shiori had picked out.

"Do you like that shirt?" Shiori asked.

Sara looked up quickly, startled by Shiori's appearance. "Yes, I do."

"Then get it. After all, these clothes are for you. Don't let me make all the decisions."

Sara nodded, and picked up the shirt. With some encouragement from Shiori, Sara began to take a more active part in picking out her clothes.

"Okay," Shiori eventually said. "Time to try them on." She led the way to the dressing room and had Sara model everything for her. Shiori almost squealed when Sara came out wearing the jean skirt with the matching blouse. "Oh, sweetheart, that looks so pretty on you!"

Sara blushed with pleasure at the complement. "It does?"

"Of course it does! Just look at yourself."

Sara looked in the mirror, and had to admit that the outfit did look nice. The skirt hugged her hips before flaring out loosely just above her knees. The thin fabric of the shirt was cool, and though it almost hung off her shoulders, the loose make of the shirt added a touch of innocence to the look.

Sara's smile faded a bit though when her eyes noted the bruises that decorated her arms and legs.

"It'll be a while before I can wear it," she said.

Shiori's smile faded some as well. "A few weeks, but soon everyone will get to see just how cute you look in that outfit."

They left the store not long after, Sara feeling quite pleased. Shiori as well, if the Cheshire grin on her face was anything to go by. "Well," Shiori said, "It's almost time for lunch. How about we go to one more store, and then the food court?"

Sara nodded agreeably. "That sounds fine."  
Shiori led the way once more, Sara following close on her heels. Sara stopped, however, when she saw what store Shiori was heading for. "Victoria's Secrets?" Sara asked blushing.

"Sara, dear," Shiori said, "after seeing the state of your outer clothes, I don't even want to imagine what your underclothes look like. I know you need some new ones."

Sara followed Shiori into the store reluctantly, her face red. She knew she needed some new things; it had been well over a year since she'd gotten any, but Sara had always found shopping for under things to be extremely embarrassing.

Shiori however, didn't seem at all bothered by it. She looked through the racks boldly, wondering aloud what would look best on Sara. "By the way dear, what size are you?" she called back to her.

Sara hung her head. Did Shiori have to talk that loudly? It was twenty minutes before Sara was able to sneak away to a different part of the store. This part had pajamas in it. Sara looked around at them. She'd need a new pair of these as well.

One in particular caught Sara's eye. It was a pastel pink and green in color, made of a silky material. The nightgown was short, it would only cover a few inches of thigh, and it was covered in lace and ruffles, making it almost look like a little girl's nightgown. Still, Sara found that she liked the nightgown. It was pretty, and it made her think of something that a princess in a fairy tale would wear.

"Oh, how adorable!" Shiori exclaimed, almost giving Sara a heart attack. "We have to get that for you."

Sara smiled at her. "Thank you Mrs. Shiori."

Shiori gave her a little hug. "Don't mention it Sara. Now come on, I've got a few more bras for you to try on."

They finally left Victoria's Secrets, and went to the food court. Looking over the crowded area, Shiori said, "Right, Sara, here's the plan. You take the bags and get us a table, and I'll go order the food."

"Right," Sara said. She took the bags from Shiori and quickly sat down at the first empty table she found, sticking the bags underneath it.

No sooner was she settled, than three guys surrounded her table. "Hey there, little missy," said one with close shaven hair, "what'cha doin' here by yourself?"

Sara felt her stomach clench with fear. She didn't trust people generally, but some instinct told her that these three were especially dangerous. "I'm not alone," she said, less boldly than she would have liked.

"Oh?" asked one with several earrings in one ear. He looked around exaggeratedly. "I don't see anyone with you."

The last guy leered down at her. "Why don't ya hang out with us for a bit? The four of us will have a whole lot of fun."

Sara's instincts screamed for her to run, but fear rooted her to her seat. She didn't know what kind of 'fun' these guys had in mind, but she knew she wouldn't like it.

"I'd rather not," she said, her voice shaky with fear.

"Come on," said the first guy grabbing her upper arm. "I know you'll like it." His grip on her upper arm tightened as he started to pull her out of her seat, and Sara cried out in pain as he unknowingly pressed down on one of her bruises.

"Hey!" barked out a voice just before the guy's arm was grabbed by someone else. The guy released Sara, and she looked up to see who had rescued her. It was another teenage boy, this one with slicked back black hair and expressive dark brown eyes. "I don't think the lady wants to be bothered."

"And who's gonna stop us?" asked the guy with the earrings. "You?"

"Him and me both," a raspy voice said. Sara looked to her left to see a tall boy with orange hair standing protectively close to her.

"So what's it gonna be?" the one with gelled hair asked smirking. "You can rumble with Kuwabara and me, or run for your lives."

"We can take you," the first guy started, but the one who had leered down at Sara interrupted.

"No way man! That's Kuwabara and Urameshi! I'm not fighting them for nuthin'; I'm out a here." He took off, the second guy following close behind. Deserted by his cronies, the first one ran away as well.

Sara found herself wondering what kind of people Urameshi and Kuwabara were, that their mere presence scared those three away.

"Are you okay miss?" asked Kuwabara.

Sara nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for helping me."  
"Not a problem," Urameshi said. "Jerks like those aren't hard to scare away."

"Yusuke, Kazuma!" Shiori called walking up to the table. "What a nice surprise!"

The two grinned at her. "Hey, Mrs. M," Urameshi said. "How's it going?"

Shiori set the tray on the table and smiled at them both. "Oh just fine. I see you two have met Sara. She's staying with me right now."

Sara saw something flicker in the teens' eyes at the mention of her name, but it quickly disappeared. Still, Sara got the feeling that they knew something about her, something they shouldn't; though what that might be and how they would have discovered it she didn't know.

"That's cool," Urameshi said. "Mrs. M, K-Suichi wouldn't happen to be with you, would he?"  
Shiori shook her head. "I'm afraid that Suichi wasn't up to coming on a girls' shopping trip."

Urameshi frowned. "Shoot, I could use his help."

"Why don't you ask Mrs. M and Sara for help?" Kuwabara said. "They're both girls, so their advice would probably be better than Suichi's."

"We'd love to help you if we can," Shiori said. "What seems to be the problem?"

Urameshi looked faintly embarrassed. "Well, you see, my friend Keiko's birthday is coming up soon, and I can't figure out what to get her as a present."

Shiori nodded. "I see. Isn't Keiko the one Suichi said was your girlfriend?"  
Urameshi blushed as Kuwabara laughed out loud. "She's not my girlfriend," he said defensively. "We've just known each other since kindergarten is all."

"Ah," Shiori said with a twinkle in her eye. "Well, Sara and I would love to help you out, just as soon as we finish eating." Shiori looked over at Sara's empty plate. She'd eaten while Shiori had been speaking with the guys. "Or as soon as I finish eating I suppose."

Shiori ate quickly and the four of them walked out of the food court. "So, Yusuke, I suppose the first thing we need to know is your budget. How much can you spend on Keiko?"

"I've got about thirty dollars," Yusuke said.

Shiori nodded. "Okay, next question. What does she want?"

Yusuke threw up his hands in frustration. "Absolutely nothing, she says! That's what's making this so hard."

"It just means she really wants you to put thought into what you get her," said Shiori.

"Yeah? And what if I think about it and still get her something she hates?" Yusuke asked.

"She won't hate it," Sara said without thinking, causing everyone to look at her. Sara blushed; she hadn't meant to draw attention to herself.

"Um, I just meant that if you get her something, not because you have to, but because you want to, and it's a gift from the heart…well I don't think there is anyway she can't like it," Sara finished, feeling rather foolish. But that was how Sara felt. She would have liked the clothes that Shiori was getting for her even if they hadn't been pretty, simply because Shiori didn't have to buy Sara clothes. She didn't have to buy Sara anything in fact, which was what made it all so overwhelming for her.

She noticed Yusuke was smiling at her. "You might be right. That kind of sounds like something Keiko would say."

Sara smiled back, getting the feeling that Yusuke had just paid her a nice compliment.

Even with Sara's observation though, Yusuke was still picky about what he wanted to buy her. Everything they came up with was shot down for one reason or another. After an hour, even Shiori's patience was wearing thin.

"That's it, Yusuke Urameshi," Shiori finally said. "Either you get something for Keiko in this next shop, or Sara and I are leaving you on your own."

"Me too," Kuwabara said. "I've got other stuff I need to do today."

"All right, all right," Yusuke said as they went into the store. "I'll try and find something for her here."

Sara looked around the store, her curiosity piqued. It was a sort of odds and ends store, with a little bit of everything in it.

"Can I help you with anything?" asked a kind looking old man behind and antique register.

"We're just sort of looking," Shiori said.

The old man nodded. "Don't hesitate to ask if you need something," he said.

Sara broke away from the group when she noticed a shelf of stuffed animals. Perhaps because of Kit, Sara had always had a love of the cuddly things. Looking amongst them she spotted a large blue penguin with a tuft of black hair on top of its head. Sara smiled as she picked it up. Somehow she got a feeling that Keiko would like it.

"Yusuke?" Sara called. "What about this?"

The three turned to see what Sara was holding. A weird look crossed Yusuke's face, while Kuwabara grinned. "That's perfect for Keiko!" Kuwabara said.

Yusuke rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I think she'd like it."

"Good," Shiori said. "Buy it and let's go. My feet are getting sore."

Sara felt pleased on the ride back. The shopping trip had been enjoyable, other than that one incident in the food court, and Yusuke and Kuwabara seemed to have liked her. The only thing that smeared the happiness she felt was the guilt inspired by the almost unnoticeable clink of the money in her pocket.


	12. Chapter 12

Crazy here, saying that this chapter has been redone. You should all be proud of Syco. She stayed up till11:30 typing this! Yay Syco!!

* * *

Kurama watched his mother's car pull out of the drive and disappear at the end of the road. He waited a few more minutes then left as well. He needed to check on the guardian that he left at Sara's old house before going to Yusuke's to find out where the current entrance to Spirit World was located.

Hopefully, the plant he left there hadn't done permanent damage to the couple, even if Kurama secretly wished it had.

He quickly made his way to the rundown house, then to the back door. There was a new plant there, Kurama smiled coldly; it was a rose bush, one with suspiciously long thorns. Kurama knelt down beside it.

"Well Mokie, have you behaved yourself?" Kurama said to the plant.

The plant shook, as though in a breeze, then its branches stretched out and a mouth with many sharp teeth appeared. "Hi Kurama! Well, I might have scared them just a _slight_ bit when they tried to sneak out… you are giving me that look again! I didn't even touch them and they stopped gibbering this morning! You should be proud!" Then plant waved its branches around excitedly, "And I found out that the ba—excuse me, the bozo doesn't want to go to America and the b—I mean, the woman, is afraid of the cops of some reason."

Kurama sat back on his heels, "Mmm, I am going to see Koenma to update him on the mission and ask to see the files. Now I know what to look for; maybe we can place a little tip to the Japanese police and clear out the vermin." He refocused on Mokie, "I will need you to stay on guard watch for a bit longer, while I go to Spirit World. I am also going to see who Sara's mother was, and why she was in the human realm."

The plant drooped a bit, "Fine, I'll stay here and watch the nasty little humans." Then it lifted up a leaf, "But I want extra fertilizer!"

Kurama smiled down at the plant as he stood, "If this works to get rid of them, then you can have lots of extra fertilizer."

Kurama left, hearing a happy little "Yay!" coming from Mokie, smiling. He remembered the day he created Mokie, as Yoko of course. Mokie was a loyal plant, following him all the way to human realm. He was the most beloved of his plants and the only one able to say that he was smarter than the average human or demon. An intelligent plant was useful to a thief and he was someone to keep away the loneliness that comes along with being a thief.

Kurama now headed to Yusuke's house, hoping to find him home.

* * *

When Kurama reached the house where Yusuke lived with his mother, no one was home. Kurama quickly checked to make sure no one was looking, and then tried the door. To his unsurprised, it was unlocked. _One would think that Yusuke would learn to lock his house, especially since he has the Spirit World equipment in here!_ Kurama thought with disdain.

Kurama promptly entered and found Yusuke's room. After a few minutes of searching, he found the Spirit World briefcase under the bed. He sat the briefcase on the bed and opened it, activating the communicator. To his surprise however, Koenma did not appear on the screen, nor did George or any of the other ogres. There was only static and white noise.

_That is strange, _Kurama mused to himself,_ I have never known the communicator not to work. Just what is going on?_ The next option is to go to Kuwabara's house and hope that Kuwabara or Shizuru was home and could tell him where the portal was located.

Kurama reached Kuwabara's house and knocked on the door. A woman with long brown hair smoking a cigarette answered, "Hello Kurama. Looking for my baby brother?"

Kurama smiles, "Hello Shizuru. Actually, I was looking for Kuwabara or you. I need to know the location of the current entrance to Spirit World, if you know where it is."

"Did you already see Yusuke?"

"Yes; however, he was not home and the communicator is not working."

Shizuru raised her eyebrows, "Odd. Well, I think that it's somewhere in the park close to the arcade. I sensed something there yesterday."

Kurama bowed slightly, "Thank you for your help Shizuru. Goodbye."

"Later." Shizuru watched him walk off, then sighed, "Something's going to happen soon, something real big. Hope you're ready fox boy."

* * *

Kurama reached the park and was able to find the portal after a little searching. He stepped through the portal with a little bit of trepidation, worrying about the downed communication lines. He soon found that his worries had a solid foundation. He was caught in a sort of web that was spread over the portal "tunnel"—the web would not be evident until it was already too late for the unfortunate "fly". Kurama smiled grimly, he was not a fly however. He quickly cut the web surrounding him, which then caused him to finish going through the portal. He dropped nimbly on his feet, turning quickly to look through the portal before it closed. He caught a small glimpse of spider-like legs and a black diamond pattern. That, combined with the webbing Kurama examined from the failed trap, was enough to identify the spinner.

Kurama scowled, _Someone is using the Diamond Spiders__ to close the portals between the worlds. _A special ability of the spiders, other than being extremely large spiders with human-like intelligence, was the capability to be able to exist inside portals indefinitely. However, the spiders dwelt deep inside the Murky Mountains and were rarely seen. Kurama's scowl deepened. Someone must have promised them quite a bit, or was extremely powerful to force them to come out of the mountains.

"Kurama!"

The yell jerked Kurama out of his thoughts. He turned his head to see George running towards him, waving his arms about wildly. George slid to a stop in front of him, panting. "Koenma wants to see you right away! You're the first communication with human world in ages!"

Kurama walked along side of George to Koenma's office, "Yes, the communicator is not working and an even bigger problem is at hand."

"An even bigger problem!?" Koenma shrill voice reached them from where they were standing just outside the baby's office. "What more is there? I already have communicator lines down, the seers are proclaiming an ancient sleeping evil is coming, and Dad's on vacation! He's going to kill me when he gets back!"

Kurama stepped into the office and into chaos. There were ogres and ferry girls running amok, with paper flying everywhere. The ruler of Spirit World ruler sat in the middle of it all, ordering people and stamping papers, all with the pacifier hanging in his mouth. Kurama walked to the desk, dodging people and flying objects.

"What bigger problem are you talking about?" Koenma asked.

"There are Diamond Spiders in the portals."

"You're kidding me!"

"I also have other news."

Koenma sighed, for once almost looking his age. "What else is there?" Kurama updated Koenma on the mission to find the hanyou, informing of Sara's past and his need to check the records of her parents. Koenma gave his full permission to look at the files, but _only _the three he needed. "I know your past Kurama! Only the three files will be opened for you."

Kurama smiled at Koenma, "The thought never entered my mind." _I must be losing my edge,_ he thought as he walked to the records room, _the thought never __**did**__ enter my mind._

Kurama reached the records room and soon found the information he needed on Harold and Gloria. Harold was wanted in America for questioning about the disappearance of his wife, Kyoko Clark and for a list of other crimes. The Japanese police wanted Gloria for trafficking and abusing in illegal substances. Kyoko's file only mentioned that she was a brown kitsune with minor psychic abilities and was killed by her husband, Harold, after the birth of her child, Sara. Nothing was mentioned on how she traveled to the human world or why she married Harold.

_That is the problem with these files, _Kurama mused, _they never have the personal information, only the blatant cut and dry facts. _He quickly looked around and saw no one. Kurama shrugged, _Why not look, the file might be open. After all, curiosity might have killed the cat, but it adopted the kitsune. _He found his file and noticed the thick size, due to his long life and employment to Spirit World to be sure, but he could not open it. _Worth a try. _

Now that he had discovered the information that he had come for it was time to leave. On the way back, Kurama was engrossed in thoughts on how to get rid of the Diamond Spider, when a sudden savage chill swept over him. The woman from his dream was standing in front of him. She was slightly translucent, but otherwise appeared the exact same.

"Yoko Kurama?" she asked him.

"Kyoko?" he asked her back.

Her lips quirked a smile, "Yes. I have escaped the underworld to speak with you concerning my daughter. However, first I will answer some of your questions. I came to the human realm through a random portal that appeared. I went through because, well in human world people don't try to eat you."

"What happened? Why did you, a kitsune of all creatures, marry a slob like Harold?"

Her eyes misted over, "He wasn't always the way he is now. When I met him, he was a man, a good man. Then he became involved in a different crowd, one that dealt in wicked things. Everyday I watched him sink deeper and deeper, until I could not recognize my own husband. Then I became pregnant. Once Sara was born, I could not hide what I truly was from him. He killed me for being a demon, but let Sara live because somewhere deep inside, he could not bring himself to kill his own flesh and blood. I was able to seal Sara's kitsune characteristics inside her, but the seal will release itself on her seventeenth birthday."

"Despicable man."

"Yes, now he is," she continued, "But I need you to save my daughter, save her from her father, from the one who would end her life, and most of all from herself. Please do this for me, for her, as one kitsune to another."

Kurama smiled at her, "Do you even have to ask?"

She laughed softly. "Well, technically, no, since the bond will compel you to keep her safe. I am sorry about that, by the way. But I couldn't think of any other way to make sure you would protect her until I could speak with you. It will wear off though in a few weeks at most. Since we're all dead we can't permanently influence you."

Kurama nodded. "You have no need to worry. She will be safe with me."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Thank you, Yoko Kurama."


	13. Chapter 13

Right, here's the revised version of chapter thirteen. Hope you all enjoy.

We don't own YYH.

* * *

Kurama walked out of the Spirit World palace and back towards the portal. He had a rose in his hand already, in preparation to kill the Diamond Spider. He was just grateful that Diamond Spiders were not nearly as formidable as their ancestor Shelob was reputed to be. Of course, the stories of the giant arachnid could have been exaggerated to frighten him as a kit, seeing as she had supposedly been so wounded by one not even a true warrior that she had left her home in the Mountains of Shadow and gone to the Murky Mountains where the Diamond Spiders now hailed from.

_**At the time they were called the Misty Mountains,**_ Yoko said with a sigh._** When I think about this, I really feel old.**_

Kurama stepped through the portal, and instantly swung his whip, destroying the web before it could trap him. There was a hiss of rage, and an angry spider leapt down from above.

Kurama twisted around and lashed out with his whip, killing the creature just before it hit him. There were several more angry hisses, and Kurama looked up with a grimace.

_There are three of them. Well, this should be fun._

A few minutes later Kurama stepped through the portal to Human World, no worse for the wear. Now he just needed to find a telephone and call the police, and then collect Mokie from Harold's house.

Thirty minutes later Kurama was walking up to the back door of the house. It turned out the Japanese police force was more efficient than he would have guessed. They were already on their way to arrest Harold and Gloria.

Kurama glanced around with a frown. Where was Mokie? A quick search with his energy revealed that Mokie was inside the house.

_I hope Mokie has not harmed them. If he has, Harold might be able to spin a story about me torturing him and, even if he is a criminal, they could arrest me for that._

Kurama entered the back door, and heard noises in the kitchen. Stepping inside, Kurama froze at what he saw. Gloria was sitting in the corner, tied and gagged. Meanwhile Mokie had somehow converted the kitchen table into a rack that he'd just finished strapping Harold, who was also gagged, on to.

"Mokie."

Mokie gave him a toothy, and rather sheepish, grin. "You know, you never said I couldn't torture them."

"I only wanted you to make sure they didn't leave."

Mokie moved several of his vines in a shrugging motion. "You should be more specific when giving orders."

Kurama sighed. There was no harm yet. Other than the mental breakdown Gloria and Harold were likely having, they were not hurt. Perhaps this could even help frighten them into waiting for the police to arrive.

He stepped up to the table and looked down at Harold, his cold mask in place. "The police are on their way to arrest both you and Gloria. I would advise you to wait for them. If I hear you have eluded them, I will hunt you down myself." He paused for effect. "If I must do that, then I shall make you beg me to kill you."

Gloria started sobbing through her gag, and Kurama had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. He hadn't even threatened her and she was scared witless.

Kurama turned to Mokie. "Get rid of the rack. I'll be outside waiting for you." If he stayed in the kitchen it would be far too tempting to turn the rack a few times. It was no more than Harold deserved.

Kurama pulled the school files out of his desk drawer. He wanted to check Sara's records and see when she was going to turn seventeen.

"Whatcha' doing?"

"I thought I told you to turn back into a seed, Mokie," Kurama said as he found Sara's birth date. She would turn seventeen in three weeks.

"But being a seed is boring!" Mokie complained. "And you only just brought me out! Can I at least stay out until your mom gets here?"

"Since her car is pulling into the driveway right now, fine."

Mokie groaned, but turned back into a seed. Kurama placed the seed in his hair, feeling slightly guilty. Mokie was Kurama's favorite plant, but he'd never been planted in the garden since Kurama couldn't trust Mokie to stay still for more than a few days at a time.

_Perhaps I should plant Mokie. He might surprise me._

_**It would also help to keep Sara safe. After all, her mother did say someone is out to kill her.**_

Kurama wished again he'd thought to ask her about that, but the phrase hadn't sunk in until he'd been back in the Human Realm. That, combined with his other recent slipups, was enough to prove to Kurama that something was slowing his reflexes. He and Yoko both thought it must be a side effect from the bond.

"Suichi?"

Kurama slipped the school files back into his desk drawer and walked down stairs. He greeted Shiori and Sara with a smile. "Welcome home. How was the shopping trip?"

"It was fun," Shiori said with a smile. "Wasn't it Sara?"

Sara smiled back. "Yes, it was."

Kurama blinked in surprise and stared at Sara. That was the first time he'd seen a real smile from her. She was normally pretty, but when she smiled she was beautiful.

"Suichi," Shiori said, pulling Kurama's thought and eyes away from Sara. He noticed with some trepidation an extra twinkle in Shiori's eyes. "There are more bags in the car. Do you mind getting them for us?"

"Of course not Mother," Kurama said. "I'll be right back."

* * *

Shiori watched Suichi walk away with pleasure. She hadn't missed how Suichi had looked at Sara; moms tended to notice these things. She had a feeling that whether Suichi knew it or not, he was starting to fall for Sara. Maternal instincts were rarely wrong.

Shiori looked back at Sara, who was still watching Suichi pull bags out of the car. The look on her face was a mix of wonder, curiosity, and nerves. Shiori was pleased. If she didn't miss her guess, Sara was well on her way to falling for Suichi as well.

"Come on, Sara; let's get these things up to your room."

Sara looked over at her and nodded. "Yes ma'am."

They walked up the stairs and set the bags down in her room. Suichi walked in moments later with the rest of the bags.

"Suichi, will you help Sara get her things put away while I start dinner?" Shiori asked, seizing on the first scheme she could think of to give the teens some time alone.

"Certainly, Mother," Suichi said, just as Shiori had known he would.

"Ah, that's not necessary," Sara said, a pink tinge coloring her cheeks.

"Nonsense," Shiori said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I'll see you two when dinner's ready."

Shiori left the room before Sara could protest more, a satisfied smile on her face. This was for their own good really. One day they'd thank her for this, Shiori was certain. It might not be until their wedding day, but hey, Shiori could be a patient woman when she wanted to be.

* * *

Sara glanced at Suichi, and then looked away quickly. He would have to be the one to bring in the Victoria's Secrets bags. She had known she should get those out of the car, but no, she had had to ignore her instincts. See if she'd do that again.

Suichi seemed to ignore those bags though, and pulled some skirts out of a different bag and began hanging them in the closet. While his back was turned Sara kicked the Victoria Secrets bags under the bed. She didn't really know what good that would do as he was the one who'd carried them in the room, but it was better than just letting them sit out in plain sight.

They worked in silence. Sara didn't know what to say and Suichi…well Sara didn't really know why Suichi wasn't talking. She didn't know why he did anything. Like why had he saved her, for example. Which brought her back to her earlier questions of how Suichi had known where to find her, or anything else he'd known for that matter.

Sara glanced over at him. Maybe now would be a good time to ask. They were sort of alone, and with Shiori downstairs, he couldn't do anything to her, right?

Screwing up her courage, Sara asked, "Um, Suichi, can I ask you a question?"

Suichi looked at her, mild curiosity on his face. "Certainly."

"How…How did you know where I lived? How did you know that my dad has had run-ins with the cops? Why'd you even come looking for me?" The questions would have continued to pour from Sara's mouth, but Suichi gently placed a finger on her lips silencing her.

"I promise I will explain everything to you, Sara. However, this is not the place for it. I must ask you to be patient for a little longer."

Sara stared into his eyes, which at that moment seemed deeper and more intense than she'd ever seen them before. She could get lost in those fathomless green eyes.

Suichi removed his hand, and Sara backed away, feeling the heat pour into her face. What was she thinking? She shouldn't think of Suichi like that, not at all. After all, what interest could he ever possibly have in her? He might be her friend, Sara still wasn't sure about that, but there was no way he'd ever have any sort of romantic feelings for her.

She turned away and started putting her clothes in drawers again. She shouldn't be dwelling on these thoughts. What she should be thinking about was what Suichi was going to tell her, and why he couldn't tell her now. After all, they were alone, when would be a better time to tell her? Of course, Shiori was downstairs…Did this mean Suichi didn't want Shiori to know what he was going to tell her?

_What sort of secret would he keep from his mom?_

Sara didn't know, but she suddenly had the feeling that she wasn't going to like it.

* * *

Kurama would have to either be blind or a total idiot to miss Sara's reaction to his touch; the red head was neither. He went back to hanging up clothes, pondering this new turn of events.

He hadn't expected Sara to develop a crush on him, and he did not know whether this would help or hinder matters.

_**I approve.**_

Kurama froze. _You what?_

_**I approve. I don't want to wind up mated to a human, and the only kitsunes live in Makai. Obviously we won't return there until Mother passes on, but of course that will leave us in such a state of depression that neither of us will want to find a mate.**_

_You do realize that Sara is human?_

_**Half. Besides, I like what I've learned about her through the bond. And before you ask no, you can't use the bond to enter her mind like I have. The bond has weakened enough now that it can't support such actions anymore.**_

Kurama forced himself to continue hanging up the clothes. _Why are we even having this conversation?_

_**…I'm lonely Suichi.**_

Kurama stilled again as a wave of aching loneliness swept through him. It was strange. Kurama shared a mind with Yoko, and yet he'd never noticed how lonely Yoko was; how lonely _he _was. Though Kurama and Yoko could think separately from each other, they were still a part of each other, and Kurama had rarely felt that as strongly as he did now.

_**You can't feel it the way I do yet, Suichi. We are over ten thousand years old, and we have no one. No one who knows, understands, and loves us both.**_ Yoko laughed bitterly._** When I was young I never thought I'd say this, but I want…no I need a mate.**_

Beyond Yoko's loneliness, Kurama felt an unease that was all his own. Yet, Yoko had said. We are over four thousand years old, Yoko had said. Though they were forever connected, Yoko had never referred to them like they were the _same_ before. They were a part of each other, but entities all their own; similar, yet different.

Yoko laughed again, mocking this time. _**Oh, we are the same, Suichi. We are one person, like the two sides of a coin. But once a coin is melted there is only the metal.**_

Kurama knew there was a deeper meaning in those words, a hidden message, but before he could ask, a tug on his sleeve brought him back to reality. He looked down to see Sara staring up at him, concern written over her face.

"Are you okay, Suichi?" she asked.

"I'm fine Sara. I was just thinking rather deeply."

She didn't look convinced, but accepted what he said. "Your mom called us down for dinner."

Kurama nodded and followed her to the door. There would be time for him to contemplate Yoko's words later. For now he needed to concentrate on the events at hand. If he didn't he would worry Sara and Shiori, something he was loath to do.

They arrived downstairs to see that Shiori had already set the table, and everything was ready to eat. As everyone sat down Kurama smiled at Shiori. "Dinner looks wonderful, Mother."

Shiori smiled back. "Thank you, Suichi. Oh, you know what I forgot to mention earlier? We saw Yusuke and Kuwabara at the mall."

Kurama looked at Shiori with new interest. "Is that so?"

Shiori nodded. "We met up with them in the food court. Yusuke was trying to find Keiko a birthday gift, and needed some help."

"That's right, Keiko's party is tomorrow," Kurama mused. "I'd almost forgotten."

"You know, you ought to take Sara along," Shiori said. "I think it would be fun."

Kurama glanced over at Sara. It was actually a good idea. It was a convenient chance for Sara to meet the whole gang, and Kurama needed to tell them about the Diamond Spiders. Plus, he thought Sara might actually enjoy the party.

Kurama smiled at Sara. "What do you say, Sara? Would you like to go?"

Sara pushed the food around on her plate. "I'm not sure it's a good idea. Keiko doesn't know me. Won't she be upset that you brought a stranger to her party?"

He chuckled. "The only person Keiko gets mad at is Yusuke, and he usually deserves it. Honestly Sara, I think Keiko would really like you. Didn't Yusuke and Kuwabara?"

A look flickered through her eyes, like she was remembering something. "I suppose."

"Then it's settled," Shiori said. "Sara will go to the party."

Sara looked surprised, and Kurama silently laughed as he watched her try and figure out when exactly she had agreed to go.

Of course, Kurama realized, this meant he would have to reveal the truth to Sara tonight. How to do so without risking Shiori overhearing?

Kurama noticed the meal was over and started to gather the dishes.

"Oh, I'll do that, Suichi," Shiori said. "You and Sara go do something."

It was as good an opportunity as he was going to get. "Very well. Sara, would you like to go on a walk with me?"

She looked up at him, and nodded hesitantly. "Okay."

She stood and Kurama escorted her to the door and outside. Walking at slightly more than a leisurely pace, Kurama led her to the park which he knew should be deserted at this hour. On the way he kept her involved in pointless chit chat to hopefully relax her nerves. It didn't seem to be helping much.

When they made it to the park, Kurama did a quick scan with his energy to make sure they were alone.

"Suichi?" Sara asked.

Kurama smiled reassuringly. "I thought it might be time to answer your questions."

She looked nervous and uncertain, and Kurama wondered if she were having second thoughts about getting answers. Whether she wanted them or not, she would have to get them.

"The truth about the matter is this. I am a Spirit Detective, working for Koenma, Prince of the Spirit World, along with Yusuke, Kuwabara, and an apparition named Hiei. Neither I nor Hiei are human, and Yusuke is a hanyou. We were given a mission to track down a hanyou in the Human World. That hanyou, Sara, is you."

He paused to gauge her reaction. She looked stunned, which was to be expected.

"I knew about your home and your father's past because of Spirit World records," Kurama said, leaving the school records out. "I looked them up when you fell under suspicion of being the hanyou."

Kurama stopped talking. The look on Sara's face had gone from stunned to scared, and she was starting to inch away.

"I'm not insane, Sara. Everything I've told you is the truth."

She shook her head. "It's impossible."

"It's been my experience that nothing is impossible."

Sara still looked like a rabbit ready to flee. Kurama reached out his hand to take hers, so that she couldn't run from him. It was a mistake. Reacting faster than he'd expected, Sara did take off running.

She wasn't fast enough though, and in four steps Kurama had caught up with her. Grabbing hold of her wrist, Kurama yanked Sara back to him. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, pinning her to his chest to stop her from running again. Trembling, Sara ducked her head away from him, and Kurama thought that if her arms had been free she would have used them to shield her face.

_This is going to make things much harder,_ Kurama thought with a sigh.

Sara let out a tiny sob, and Kurama felt guilt twist his heart. He hadn't wanted to frighten her, but he could not let her run away.

"I'm not going to hurt you Sara. I promise you're safe with me."

Sara didn't look up, or react to his words in any way he could see. He had to find a way to prove to Sara that what he was saying was the truth.

"Sara, look at the flowers," Kurama said, his tone just firm enough that she would perceive it as an order. She raised her head a tiny bit, looking as the cluster of flowers planted at the base of a tree. Kurama let his energy flow into the flowers, causing them to grow until they had twined all the way around and through the tree and its branches.

Kurama turned his attention back to Sara, who had gone very still. He said nothing, waiting for her to react. Finally she lifted her face to him, her green eyes wide with shock.

"I'm…" she started and trailed off.

"A hanyou," Kurama finished for her. "You are half human, half kitsune, to be specific."

She frowned, and Kurama could tell she was thinking deeply about this. "So, my dad…"

"Is human," Kurama said his tone slightly icy. "Your mother was the kitsune."

Sara lowered her eyes. "Was," she whispered.

Kurama blinked in surprise. Once he'd found out Kyoko was dead, he'd simply assumed…

"You didn't know?"

Sara looked up at him again, teary eyed. "I knew she was dead, somewhere inside. But as long as no one confirmed it, I could hope she'd come again."

Kurama's arms at some point had gone from pinning Sara to being loosely wrapped around her waist. His arms tightened again, as Kurama wished he knew how to comfort Sara. If he'd realized she didn't know for certain what had happened to Kyoko, he'd have told her differently.

"So, if you're not human, what are you?" Sara asked wiping her eyes.

"I'm a full blooded kitsune."

"So, your mom isn't human?"

Kurama stiffened. "Mother is completely human, and knows nothing about any of this. I'd appreciate it if it remained that way."

Sara nodded, and Kurama knew she recognized the order for what it was. "Why were you ordered to look for me?"

"Normally, those with yokai blood in them are very dangerous and not allowed to live in the Human World. However, I am certain that Koenma will make an exception for you, as you have never tried to harm anyone."

Sara nodded. "Okay."

Kurama wiped the tear tracks ff her face. "Let's head on home. We can talk more about this tomorrow, after Keiko's party."

* * *

Sara followed after Suichi with her eyes downcast, thinking about all he'd told her. It seemed unreal, but she couldn't deny what her eyes had shown her.

_Wait…if I'm his mission then…he doesn't care about me?_

Her shoulders sagged with the crushing realization that none of Suichi's actions had stemmed from any sort of feeling of friendship. He had saved her because he'd been ordered to catch her, not because he cared. In a way, it could be said she was Suichi's prisoner.

_He said Koenma should let me stay here…but will he order Suichi to watch me or something?_

Sara couldn't stand that thought. She hated the idea of Suichi constantly being around pretending to be her friend when she was only his job.

And yet…and yet she was so desperate for someone to be kind to her, for someone to at least show the signs of friendship, that Sara thought she might do anything to keep things like this.

_If no one will truly care about me, shouldn't I stay with the one person who at least acts like he cares?_

_You could leave,_ a voice whispered in her mind._ You could look for someone who will truly care for you._

No, Sara decided. She couldn't. At least, not yet. For one thing, she was far too scared. For another, she didn't have nearly enough money.

_Okay then, I'll just keep collecting money from them for a while. Once Suichi let's his guard down, I'll leave, and I'll look for people who really want me to stay._

This route decided, Sara wondered why she still felt so much like crying.

* * *

Shiori was trusting, but she wasn't blind, and she certainly wasn't stupid. It was obvious that something had happened. The happiness she'd seen in Sara earlier that day was gone, like it had never existed.

Had Suichi done something to her? Shiori didn't want to think her son was capable of hurting anyone, but something was wrong with Sara.

Shiori forced a smile. She wasn't going to confront them both at the same time. "How was your walk?"

"Fine," Suichi said his face the picture of calm.

"I'm tired," Sara said glancing away. "I'm going to bed now."

"Well, goodnight then," Shiori said. "Sleep tight."

Sara went up the stairs and Suichi said, "I think I shall retire for the night as well."

"Wait a minute Suichi."

He stopped and looked at her inquisitively.

"What happened while you two were walking?"

Suichi looked surprised. "Nothing, Mother. Why do you ask?"

"Something is wrong with Sara."

Suichi frowned and tilted his head to the side. "Are you certain? She said she was tired. Perhaps that's all it was."

Shiori shook her head. "Something is wrong with her Suichi. I can tell. Did someone say something to her?"

Suichi shook his head. "No Mother. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with Sara. I think your reading into things that aren't there."

He was doing it again. He was using that tone of voice, the one that said he was the adult, and she a silly child. Shiori was in no mood to take it tonight.

"Don't you dare speak to me in that tone of voice," she snapped. "I'm the parent here, not you."

Suichi took a step back, looking more surprised than she'd ever seen him look before. It made Shiori wonder for a moment if he'd ever really been surprised before.

"I am not," she said her voice tight, "as stupid as you apparently think I am. It's obvious that something has upset Sara, and I want to know what."

Suichi's face had gone from surprise to a mask of calm. "I don't mean any disrespect, Mother," he said in a voice that was the epitome of polite respect, so much so that Shiori knew it must be fake. "However, I honestly don't see what's making you so upset. I don't believe there's anything wrong with Sara. If something had happened while we were on our walk, I would tell you."

Suddenly Shiori felt weary. She already knew that she'd lost this battle. Suichi was never going to tell her what had transpired on that walk.

Shiori closed her eyes against the ache that suddenly filled her heart. "Would you Suichi? I can't recall a time you ever told me anything that I didn't ask you about. And even then you're always sketchy with the details."

She opened her eyes and stared at his unreadable face. "Do you not want me in your life so badly?"

He didn't answer, but just stared at her, his fists clenched by his side. Shiori stood and walked up the stairs to her room without another word. There was nothing more to say.

As she closed the door to her room, Shiori felt a new determination rise in her. She would find out what had upset Sara so badly. She would speak to Sara herself, when Suichi wasn't around of course. That girl had gone through too much in her life already. Shiori felt she had to protect her, even if that meant protecting her from Suichi.

Shiori covered her mouth with her hands to stifle her sobs. She couldn't lie to herself anymore. She couldn't go on trying to believe that Suichi was just like every other seventeen year old boy, or that he ever would be like any other seventeen year old boy. There would be no more silly match making games from her. No more standing back and waiting for Suichi to come to her.

Suichi was different. Different from everyone. Shiori didn't know whether that difference was good or bad, but she was going to find out.

Shiori loved her son, but she didn't know him. That was going to change, starting now, whether Suichi liked it or not.

* * *

Kurama closed his eyes and bowed his head. He'd never hated himself more than he had at this moment. It took all his will power not to break something.

He'd lied to Shiori before, but she'd never known he was lying. She always accepted what he said as truth. This time she'd known. She'd known, but she hadn't fought for the truth very long before giving up.

_**Perhaps you should tell her the truth.**_

_You know I can't do that. It would put her in far too much danger if she knew._

_**And of course there's always the risk she won't accept or love you because of me,**_ Yoko said dryly.

Kurama had never mentioned it before, but he wasn't surprised that Yoko knew of his secret fears. What if Shiori didn't love him when she knew that he wasn't a human; that, in a way, he wasn't even her son? Kurama couldn't stand the thought of her rejection, and so he kept his secrets. He'd never seen how much pain his secrets had caused her until this night.

_I can't tell her._

_**So you'll selfishly keep her in the dark, knowing how badly it hurts her.**_

_Shut up!_

_**My, my, what a temper you have. You shouldn't get so upset about it when you know I'm only telling the truth. Or is that why you're getting upset?**_

Kurama didn't respond, but stormed out of the house. He had to get away. This wasn't a conversation he wanted to have. This wasn't a conversation he could handle. He needed to get away, but how does one run from one's own mind?

* * *

Caius studied the tree that was overgrown by flowers. It had worked effectively to convince the girl. As Caius watched on, the flowers shrunk down to their original size, albeit they were more vibrant than before. A lesser kitsune would have left the flowers on the tree, doomed to die from the unnatural growth they were forced into. Yoko Kurama was no such kitsune though, but was an ancient creature, one older than the memories of men. Caius smiled grimly, he would be a worthy opponent.

"I see you let a prime opportunity slip by."

Caius turned and smiled at the yokai woman who was standing behind him. She was beautiful, with long purple hair, honey colored eyes, and full curves that almost came out of the tiny outfit she wore.

"And what opportunity might that have been, Jezebel?"

"The opportunity to attack Yoko Kurama while he was occupied and capture the girl, of course."

Caius turned back to the tree. "This was not the most opportune moment."

"Really?" Caius heard her walk up behind him. "It looked to me like you were just scared."

Caius looked at her over his shoulder. "What is your favorite emotion, Jezebel?"

Jezebel tilted her head at him. "What's that to do with anything?"

"My second favorite emotion is anger. It's fascinating to watch the expressions that cross people's faces when they're angry."

Jezebel crossed her arms over her chest. "If anger is your second favorite emotion, then what's your very favorite?"

Caius turned completely so he was facing her. His hand shot out and grabbed her chin, dragging her closer to himself. "As they say, that's for me to know, and you to find out. Of course, I'm not sure you want to."

Jezebel knocked his hand away and jumped back, anger flashing through her eyes. "Don't you touch me!"

Caius chuckled. "Why not? Are you afraid I'm hungry? Because you know, Jack never did order me not to eat you."

Her eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare."

Caius began to walk away. "No, I wouldn't. Your energy doesn't appeal to me at all." He sent her another smile. "Just as you don't appeal to Jack."

Caius's thoughts turned inward as he walked away. Why was it that the energy he wanted the most was so hard to find? Jack had it to be sure…but now he'd found someone else with the right kind of energy. Caius unconsciously licked his lips. He was so hungry, and soon now, he would feast.


	14. Chapter 14

Here is the revised version of chapter 14. Hope you all enjoy.

* * *

The streamers were up, the plates were set, and the cake was…

"Where is the cake!?" Kuwabara yelled to Yusuke. Kuwabara and Yusuke were decorating for Keiko's party while she and some of her girl friends were out shopping. It really was the only way to get things done without Keiko hovering over them and critiquing what they did.

"It's in here! I can't get the stupid icing on the blasted—Ow! The cake's still hot!" Yusuke screeched from the kitchen.

Kuwabara sighed as he went to the kitchen, for once Yusuke decided that he wanted to be the considerate boyfriend and announced that he wanted to bake Keiko's cake himself. _I personally think that it would have been nicer to stop lifting Keiko's skirt, _Kuwabara thought,_ but they are an odd couple._ "Yusuke, what are you doing?"

It was a sight that many people—and demons—would have killed to see. Yusuke was standing in the middle of what looked like a war-zone. There were eggshells, dripping with egg white, scattered about the kitchen. Something was on the floor; Kuwabara wasn't exactly sure _what _it was. Flour and sugar covered most of the counter space, and some had apparently taken up living in Yusuke's hair. Yusuke himself was standing at the counter, valiantly battling the enemy, the cake. The cake was winning.

"I'm putting the icing on the cake, duh!"

"You idiot, the cake has to cool before you put the icing on it!"

"How would you know, moron!?"

"I have made a cake before you know, flea brain!"

Through much arguing and a few death threats, the cake ended up in the freezer, leaving the two staring at the freezer door.

"Will that cool it off fast enough?" Yusuke wondered aloud.

Kuwabara shrugged, "I dunno. I guess. Though if you had made the cake this morning like I told you too, we would not have this problem."

This then started the fistfight in the kitchen. Forty-two minutes later, the two collapsed on the floor of Keiko's family's living room. Everything was in its place, the cake finally had the icing on it, they were cleaned up, and they finally had a chance to breath.

Yusuke flopped down on his back, groaning, "Finally. Done"

The doorbell rang.

The two groaned in unison.

Yusuke got up and answered the door. "Hey Kurama."

Sara peeked out from behind Kurama. "Umm, and hi Sara," Yusuke quickly added, "Come on in."

"What's up guys?" Kuwabara asked from his position on the floor.

"Hello," Kurama said, nodding his head to each of them, "by the way Sara knows."

Kuwabara got up from the floor. "Let me welcome you into the group Sara," he bowed in front of her, but paused, noticing something…off. "Are you okay?" he said softly to her.

Sara's eyes widened briefly, then she nodded, "Yes, I'm fine, just a little surprised by the news."

Kuwabara opened his mouth to say something else, but was pushed aside by Yusuke.

"Glad to welcome you into the group. Thanks again for your help picking out the gift. I couldn't tell you at the mall, 'cause you didn't know and Kurama's mom was there, but the stuffed animal you picked out looks just like Puu did before he transformed." Yusuke paused to take a breath, but was interrupted by Kurama before he could continue.

"Slow down Yusuke. Sara has just learned of our world and you are over whelming her." Kurama put himself between Yusuke and Sara.

Sara peeked out from behind Kurama once again. "You're welcome, Yusuke," she said softly.

"We will talk after the party about the mission," Kurama told Yusuke.

"Ok, well, welcome to Keiko's party! Even though Keiko herself is not here yet, but she will be here soon. And I made the cake!" Yusuke announced proudly.

Kurama turned to Sara, "I wouldn't eat it if I was you, Yusuke can't cook." The guys laughed at the joke, but Kuwabara thought Sara looked a little worried.

Keiko arrived and the party went into full swing.

The party went well. The little shrimp Hiei showed up, as did the lovely Yukina. Kuwabara thought that Yukina and Sara would get along perfectly. He worried about Hiei though; the little spirit never really talked to anyone but Kurama, but he seemed to especially dislike Sara. And Sara, there was a completely new story. Yesterday when Kuwabara saw her, she seemed happy and was adjusting. Now she seemed almost tortured; her aura was twisting around. _What happened in that short time, well other than the fact she learned she wasn't human? _Kuwabara wondered.

Then he noticed Kurama's aura. The red and silver was there—a bit stronger that normal but still normal, but the brown that Kuwabara had noticed the day they met at the dinner was still there. Suddenly Kuwabara's eyes narrowed. He quickly turned his head to see Sara, who wasn't too far off from Kurama. Her aura was exactly the same shade of brown as the new brown in Kurama's aura. _So, she is the one who is connected to Kurama; I wonder how that happened._ Kuwabara would definitely have questions after the party.

The time for opening gifts had come. Keiko was thanking people for the gifts as she opened them, but everyone could tell she was nervously waiting on Yusuke's. Finally, she came to the gift clumsily wrapped in Christmas paper. Keiko opened it and squealed. "I love it Yusuke, thank you!" she said jumping into his arms.

Yusuke grabbed her and said, "I made the cake too."

Keiko followed this with another happy hug. Kuwabara could just see what was running through her head; _He does care, even when he goes months without doing anything to prove it, he goes and does something sweet! _Kuwabara shook his head; Yusuke only remembered her birthday because Botan had reminded him of it! Speaking of Botan, Kuwabara briefly wondered why the fairy girl had failed to come to the party. It wasn't like her to miss such a thing.

Soon the party was winding to a close, and surprise of surprises, the cake had actually been good! All the guests left, leaving the detectives and others who knew the secret lives.

"Alright let's get this meeting started. Sara, you are a hanyou living in human world. Koenma has to meet you to tell you that you can live here or not, and I'm sure he will say yes. So we are going to Spirit World now. That covers everything, right?" Yusuke clapped his hands, looking around.

Kurama stood up, "Actually I have additional information. There is some that is for Sara and some for the entire group." He turned to Sara. "Last night I wasn't able to tell you everything; you were frightened enough by the news that you are not human. Now for the rest of your heritage, your mother was a brown kitsune—I will explain the color code of the kitsunes later—and was from a family of psychics."

Kuwabara glanced at Sara, checking to see how she took this new information. Sara just sat there, white-faced, hands clutching the sides of her chair with the desperation of a drowning man. _Oh no,_ Kuwabara thought, _that poor girl._

Kurama turned to the rest of the group, "Now for some rather alarming news. I have information that someone is seeking Sara. I do not know whom or why, but I believe that it is connecting to the attack I informed you about." Kurama took a deep breath, "There are also some serious problems happening in Spirit World. The portals are being guarded by Diamond Spiders-"

Kurama was interrupted by Yusuke, "What exactly are Diamond Spiders?"

Hiei answered, "They are a species of spiders—with human intelligence—that normally stay in the Murky Mountains in the Makai. They're decently powerful, with the ability to stay within portals indefinitely."

Kuwabara mentally translated what Hiei said in his head, _Ability to stay within portals indefinitely, that would mean they ambush anyone coming in or going out! That explains why Botan didn't show up for Keiko's party._

"Crap." Looks like Yusuke figured it out too.

Kurama nodded his head, "Exactly. That is not the only bad news from Spirit World. All communications between our world and theirs has been blocked. The only option is messengers that are able to kill Diamond Spiders—and more than one spider at a time—to slip between the worlds to deliver the messages. A very slow method as you might guess. Koenma is backed up in paperwork, kinder souls are wandering freely about the palace, and King Enma is on vacation."

Yusuke stood up, "Who cares? We'll take care of this one the same way we took care of everyone else that tried to mess with the world! A swift kick in the as—I mean behind, and a fast punch to the teeth!" Kuwabara saw movement out of the corner of his eye. It was Sara and she had just winced, violently so.

Apparently Kurama saw it too, "That is enough Yusuke. We will go see Koenma now. He may have information on the one behind all the chaos."

The group stood up, ready to head to the portal's location. Everyone headed out, except for Keiko and Yukina, who would wait at Keiko's house for their return. Kuwabara wanted to use this as a chance to speak to Kurama, but he was already out the door with Sara. _I have a feeling_, Kuwabara thought grimly, _that asking my questions aren't going to be as easy as I thought it would be_.

* * *

Sara walked along side of Kurama to the place where the portal was located. She wasn't quite sure where they were headed as she had tuned out the others' voices and was focused solely on her thoughts.

_Shuichi said there was someone out there to get me. I'm not human. My mother is dead. Father is gone. _The world seemed to move in a whirlwind; things were changing to quickly for her to adapt. Now she was going to another world, to meet a person that would decide her future. It was really too much for one girl, but the others were acting so normal, so natural that she wanted to copy them; she really wanted to feel like them. The party had been nice; she had been able to ignore the fact that it wasn't just a group of friends together having fun, with herself finally included in the group. _I have to calm myself_, Sara thought desperately, _Shuichi will explain everything later. He said he would._

The group's sudden stop pulled Sara out of her thoughts. "This is where the portal was," Shuichi said, puzzled.

"You sure?" Yusuke asked.

Sara looked around; they were standing in a forested section in a park, a different park than the one she had gone to last night. There was no sign of anything out of the ordinary.

"Of course I'm sure Yusuke." Shuichi answered.

"I have a really bad feeling about this, guys," Kuwabara put in.

All the boys suddenly tensed, and then moved suddenly; they were now all around Sara, protecting her, but she panicked slightly. _There is no escape!_ Was the only thought coming through her mind.

Sara managed to calm herself though, enough to see what was going on. A beautiful woman had appeared; one that could not possibly be human. After all, no human looked that good.

The woman ran a hand through her purple hair that ran to her waist, "Hello boys."

Sara heard Yusuke mutter, "Please let her be a good guy, please."

The woman's eyes danced from boy to boy, "My name is Jezebel. I would really appreciate it if you would bring the girl to me."

Sara forced herself to breathe, here it was, proof that someone was after her.

Yusuke shook his head, his voice slightly strained, "Why would we do that?"

Jezebel smiled, a tiny shark-like smile, "You can feel it, can't you? That's one of my many powers; the ability to control the males of any species."

Sara froze, but before she could get her mind to process the fact that she was doomed, a low laugh echoed.

"You do not have the power to control males, only a mild hypnosis." It was Shuichi, though Sara had never heard him talk like that or his voice that dark. "I know what you are now, snake-woman. Your perfume almost overpowers your own scent. Disgusting."

Sara saw Yusuke and Kuwabara both look curiously at Shuichi. Maybe they had never seen him like this either?

Jezebel shrugged, "I thought you may be too strong for it to affect you, but it was worth a try. I am not here to fight you regardless. I am simply closing down all the portals to and from Spirit World."

Yusuke and Kuwabara gasped.

"That's right boys," the woman purred, "no more going in, and no more coming out. You are stranded."

"Don't matter," Yusuke growled, "I'm going to wipe the floor with you right now." His fist smacked into his other hand.

The woman laughed; a bell like laugh that echoed. "In the city? How many to you want to kill, Yusuke Urameshi?"

"How do you know my name?"

"I know all your names. Sara Clark—the scared little girl, Kazuma Kuwabara—the brave human, Hiei—the Forbidden Child, Yusuke Urameshi—the human hero, and Yoko Kurama—once King of thieves, now a little boy lying to his mother. My master is a very knowledgeable man." Jezebel smirked, "Now I must bid you farewell. I have other orders to carry out." She turned and vanished into the forest.

A few minutes passed, and then the guys relaxed. They turned to Sara. She looked at each of them and thought _I can't take this anymore!_

The world turned black.

* * *

Shiori waited until Shuichi and Sara walked out the door, going to the birthday party. _Finally, they are gone,_ she thought;_ time to get down to some research._

She started by looking in his room. That took hours; because he would definitely notice of something was out of place. Her search paid off, she found a stack of manila folders in his desk drawer. It was a stack from school, about different girls. _How did Suichi get these? Why does he have them?_ Her confusion mounted; there were six folders there. Her breath caught when she saw the last name. Sara Clark. Her confusion mingled with horror. _What is going on here? I need more information._

Shoving the files back in the drawer, Shiori looked around the room. Where to look now? Then she noticed his book bag. _That's it! He's always on those school trips; maybe something happened on one of those that the school could tell me about! _She ran down to the phone, quickly dialing the school's number.

"Hello, how may I help you?"

"Yes, I am Shuichi Minamino's mother and I was wondering if you could give me some information about his school trips."

Shiori heard the clicks of a keyboard, then a moment of silence, "I'm sorry Mrs. Minamino, but your son has never been on any school trips with us."

Shiori's mind stopped, _He had been lying about those too!_ Dimly she heard the woman on the line say hello.

"Yes, of course. Thank you." Her body automatically hung up the phone. She managed to get to a chair before she collapsed.

Shuichi was never on a school trip? But there were so many…and she had never checked with the school. And he was always unusually tired when he got back from them. Sometimes he even had nightmares when he got back. How could she not have thought that he lied to her about the trips?

_Because I trusted my son, my precious son who I do not know. _

He could be in a gang, or a stalker, or a kidnapper, or a drug dealer, or anything and she didn't have a clue. As she sat there, tears slowly began pouring down her face, weeping for the son she had never had and the son she did not know she had.


	15. Chapter 15

Kurama caught Sara before she hit the ground, and Yusuke and Kuwabara crowded around them. Hiei snorted in derision. The girl hadn't even been attacked, and she was passed out cold. How pathetic.

"What happened?" Yusuke asked.

"I think she was just overwhelmed by the situation," Kurama answered as he picked Sara up bridal style. "We'd best head back to Keiko's for now."

They travelled back as quickly as they could, taking back alley ways in order to avoid humans. When they got back to Keiko's house, she and Yukina were both instantly alarmed at the sight of Sara unconscious in Kurama's arms.

"What happened?" Keiko demanded.

"Well," Yusuke said, "seems like whoever is after Sara has closed all the portals."

"We met up with some lady named Jezebel who's part of their group," Kuwabara said. "I think it scared Sara, so she passed out once Jezebel left."

"Poor girl," Keiko said, worry lighting her brown eyes. "Lay her down on the couch Kurama."

Hiei had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. It was so annoying how they were all fussing over this one pathetic girl. Despite the fact that she was their mission, Hiei couldn't see anything that made her special. She was just a spineless half breed.

"So someone really is after her," Yukina said with a frown. "I wonder why."

"Sacrifice," Hiei said leaning against the wall.

Everyone looked at him as if he'd sprouted a fourth eye. "How can you say that?" Kuwabara asked defensively.

"It's the only explanation that makes sense." Hiei looked at Kurama. "You said she was half brown kitsune? Well, brown kitsune are well known for being the weakest of all kitsunes. Add that to the fact that she's half human and there's no way that she could ever be some sort of powerful weapon. The only other reason they'd want her then is for a sacrifice."

Kurama nodded, his green eyes narrowed in thought. "It does make sense. I think Hiei is right." Kurama glanced over at Sara. "However, I believe we should keep these suppositions from Sara. It would do more harm than good for her to know."

Hiei tuned his head away in disgust. There they went, trying to coddle the girl again. What would do her good would be to grow a spine.

"You disagree, Hiei?"

Hiei looked back at Kurama, and was somewhat surprised to see the challenge on his face. When had he grown so protective of the girl?

"Hn. Do what you want. I don't care."

"She's waking up!" Kuwabara said, effectively diverting all attention away from Hiei. And at the moment, that was really how Hiei preferred it. It would make what he was about to do easier.

* * *

When Sara opened her eyes, she immediately shrank back from the crowd of faces around her. A part of her had hoped that everything that had happened was just some sort of nightmare, and that she would wake up in bed at the house with Harold and Gloria arguing downstairs. Better the danger you knew, than the one you couldn't understand.

"Back up guys, give her some breathing room," Keiko ordered. She looked at Sara in concern. "Are you okay?"

Was she okay? No, she wasn't okay, she was…

Every thought trailed off as the hair on the back of her neck stood up, and a strange sensation washed over her. It was like someone was staring at her, no, _in_ her. Like they could see her every thought, her every hope, her every fear.

"Sara?"

She didn't know who called her name as she leaned forward, gasping for breath and clutching the side of the couch. Panic swelled though her, and her eyes landed on Hiei. He was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, apparently not interested in the goings on, but Sara just knew he was the one doing this.

"Stop it," she whimpered. "Stop it!"

"Hiei," Shuichi said sharply.

Hiei opened his eyes and the feeling left. He glared at Shuichi. "You didn't tell us everything, fox," he said, his voice low and accusatory. "When exactly did you bond yourself to the girl?"

Sara looked up at Shuichi. He'd done what?

Shuichi stiffened and glared back at Hiei. "I didn't. Her ancestors created the bond, so that I'd find her. Apparently they knew from the start that someone was after her, and they wanted us to protect her. I didn't mention it because it is only temporary and will fade soon." His eyes narrowed. "Besides which, bonds were not meant to be spoken about publicly."

A moment of awkward silence filled the room. Sara looked down at the carpet, trying to understand this new bit of information. She and Kurama were bonded? What did that mean, exactly?

"Well," Kuwabara said, "that does explain the difference in your aura. I was wondering what had caused that."

"Erm, look, what we've got to do now it decide our next step," Yusuke said. "We can't get to Spirit World to update Koenma, so we're going to have to try and figure out what's going on by ourselves. Hiei, I want you to try and find that Jezebel woman and see if you can find out who she's working for. The rest of us will try to stick with Sara and keep her safe. I'm guessing if we wait long enough then they'll come after us on their own."

It didn't seem like much of a plan to Sara, but she supposed that they couldn't really do any better. Still, she had her own plan. She'd already decided to run away from Shuichi. She'd just have to run a bit farther than she thought to escape this new danger.

A sudden thought struck her, and Sara glanced over at Hiei who was looking out the window. Did he know? Had he learned what she planned to do? Would he stop her?

**Do as you like.**

The voice echoed in her mind, surprising Sara. She swallowed. That answered that question.

* * *

Yusuke and Kurama walked on either side of Sara. It had been decided that Kuwabara would escort Yukina back to Genkai's and Yusuke would go with Kurama and Sara. Yusuke sighed. At least Yukina would have spoken to him. But no, he had to get stuck with the world's gloomiest people.

"Hey, Kurama, what's your mom cooking for dinner tonight?" Yusuke asked.

"I don't know, Yusuke."

Yusuke glanced over at Kurama. Someone who didn't know him might think that nothing was wrong with Kurama, but he and Yusuke had been friends a long time now, and Yusuke could tell something was bothering him.

_Either he's still mad at Hiei for reading Sara's mind and bringing up the bond, or I touched a sore spot bringing up his mom._

Of course, that wouldn't make sense…unless maybe they'd had some sort of fight? Either way, Yusuke decided that it would be best to drop the subject.

Instead he glanced at Sara, who was walking with her head down. She seemed rather depressed and scared about all this. It bothered Yusuke that she was acting that way. He'd much rather see her happy, the way she'd been at the mall and the party than like this.

Moving quickly, he stepped in front of Sara, forcing her to stop and look at him in confusion. Then he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Yusuke, what are you doing?" Kurama asked.

Yusuke ignored him and covered his face with his hands. When he moved them away he was making a new face. He did it a couple more times before he finally got the reaction he wanted. Sara began to giggle.

Yusuke leaned back on his heels with a grin. He patted her on the head and said, "That's better. You ought to laugh more. Don't worry about the future. We'll keep you safe. 'Kay?"

Sara looked up at him, and glanced at Kurama. She seemed confused and hopeful at the same time. Finally she nodded. "Okay."

* * *

Caius walked down the corridor that led to Jack's inner sanctum. He was somewhat uneasy, though one couldn't tell by looking at him. However, Caius was certain that for Jack to have called him away from his mission like this, something must be wrong.

Caius pushed open the large and heavy doors, revealing Jack reclining in a chair as if he hadn't a care in the world, and Jezebel perched on his arm rest. Jezebel sent Caius a smirk that he chose to ignore. Instead, he looked at the other occupant of the room. He was small and slender, almost like a woman in build, though his hard face was anything but feminine, what with his beard and all. Kamiso's mix matched appearance never ceased to amuse Caius.

"Caius," Jack said.

Caius turned his attention to his master. "Sir?"

"Jezebel has told me something I find rather disturbing."

Caius raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Did she tell you one of those fairy tales with a happy ending?" He sighed dramatically. "Jezebel, you know he doesn't like those."

Jezebel scowled at him as Jack sat up straight. "What she told me is that you had a prime opportunity to kill Yoko Kurama and get the girl that you let slip by."

Caius nodded. "It's true there was an opportunity, but I didn't think it was a prime one. That's why I didn't attack."

"Or perhaps Jezebel is right and you are just too much of a coward for this job," Kamiso sneered.

"There is a difference between cowardice and caution." Caius turned back towards Jack. "I know you don't see him as such, but compared to the three of us, Yoko Kurama is an ancient creature. He has more knowledge and experience, and quite possibly more power than the three of us. When facing an opponent like that, you must be sure to play on all his weaknesses."

"Sounds like an excuse to me," Jezebel said.

"And to me as well," Jack said with narrowed eyes. "Caius, I am removing you from this mission for now. Kamiso, it is now your task to collect the girl."

Kamiso bowed. "You will not regret this decision Master."

"Oh, I'm sure he will," Caius said dryly, though he was inwardly seething. "I'll be waiting when Kamiso fails."

Caius walked out of the room and back down the corridor. He had no doubt that Kamiso would fail. Kamiso was far too reckless. Caius wouldn't put it past him to try taking on all four detectives at once.

_I just hope my own plans aren't ruined by him. It will be very hard to exploit Yoko Kurama's greatest weakness if she's dead._

* * *

Shiori glanced out the window of her kitchen and saw Shuichi, Yusuke, and Sara walking up the road. _Oh no! They'll be able to tell I've been crying today, and they'll want to know why!_

And of course she couldn't tell them why. Somehow Shiori didn't think 'Oh, I've been crying because I just found out my son is a liar, and quite possibly a stalker' would go over very well.

She ran to the couch and turned the TV on to a random channel. Grabbing a tissue, Shiori was wiping away tears as the three teens walked in.

"Mother, are you okay?" Shuichi asked quickly.

"It's so sad!" Shiori said dramatically. "Rodrigo just broke up with Stacy, and they've been through so much together! And he left her for that flighty little nurse, too!"

Shiori quickly turned the TV off when the wrestling show started to come back on. "Oh, Yusuke, I didn't know you were here. Are you staying for dinner?"

Yusuke smiled. "If you don't mind, Mrs. M."

Shiori smiled at him. "Of course not, honey. Just let me go wash off my face and I'll get dinner started."

She retreated to the bathroom and closed the door with a sigh. She hoped they hadn't seen through her act, but would have been very surprised if Shuichi hadn't figured it out. While washing her face, a thought made its way to Shiori's mind.

Shuichi was very close to Yusuke, Kazuma, and Hiei. They might know something about Shuichi that she didn't. Pursing her lips, Shiori thought up a plan to get Yusuke alone.

_I hope this works._

She walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator door, she paused a moment, and the closed it. Poking her head in the living room where the teens were, she said, "I'm missing a few things I need to make dinner."

"Would you like us to go to the store for you?" Shuichi asked.

Shiori shook her head. "No, I'll go. But I do need someone to come with me. Yusuke, would you ride with me while Sara and Shuichi make the salad?"

"Sure thing," Yusuke said hopping off the couch. "See you guys in a while."

Shiori had to bight her lip to keep from grinning. That had been much easier than she'd expected. Of course, Yusuke didn't know that she was planning to interrogate him.

Shiori slid into the driver's seat of her car while Yusuke settled into the one beside her. "Don't forget your seatbelt," she told him.

Yusuke buckled the seat belt and asked, "What do you need to buy?"

"Chicken and noodles," Shiori answered. She paused for a moment and then said, "Yusuke, I'll admit I don't really need your help shopping. I asked you to come with me, because I'm worried about Shuichi. He's been acting strange lately, and I was wondering if he might have told you something."

Yusuke waved one hand airily. "Nah, Kurama's fine. There's no need for you to worry, Mrs. M."

"Kurama?" Shiori asked, her hands tightening on the wheel.

Yusuke froze and his face paled; his expression quite clearly read 'oh crap'. "Um, yeah, I mean Shuichi. Kurama is a nickname we came up with for him; it's an inside joke, I don't think you'd get it."

A believable excuse, if Yusuke hadn't acted so panicked. "I see. How come I've never heard you use it before?"

"Um, well, you see Shuichi doesn't really like his nickname; it uh, brings back some embarrassing memories, so he would rather no one know about it."

"Of course. Well, I guess there's nothing odd about him having a nickname." Shiori saw the relief on Yusuke's face. "However, there is something odd about the school not having any records of those trips he took with them. Don't you think so?"

Yusuke's face had gone white again. "Yeah, weird. You should talk to them about that."

Shiori sighed and hit the brakes just a bit harder than necessary at the red light. "Yusuke Urameshi, I know something is going on with Shuichi, no, _Kurama,_ that he won't tell me about. And I also know that you know what's going on, and you will tell me, or else." She glared at Yusuke. "You don't want to face the wrath of an angry mom."

_

* * *

_

Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh _**crap!**_

What was Yusuke supposed to tell her? He couldn't tell Shiori the truth, not unless Yusuke wanted Kurama to kill him. But he was starting to think that Shiori might kill him if he didn't tell her something.

"Well?" Shiori demanded, glaring at him again.

Yusuke usually didn't see much family resemblance between Shiori and Kurama, but when she glared Yusuke could spot it very well.

"Um, okay, I'll tell you." Yusuke blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. "We're in a gang. But it's not a bad gang!"

They were pulling into the parking lot of the store now. "Really?" Shiori said, a note of sarcasm dripping from her voice.

Yusuke nodded, "Yes, really! We're like, um, a police gang. We stop other gangs from doing bad things."

Shiori turned off the car. "And why not leave that sort of thing to the real police? You're just a bunch of kids! Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?"

Memories of Maze Castle, the Dark Tournament, Sensui and others flashed through Yusuke's mind. "Yeah. Yeah we know." It was Shiori who really didn't understand how dangerous their job was. Of course, Yusuke wasn't planning on telling her.

"Yusuke, you boys need to stop this. Why not let the cops handle everything?"

"The cops can't get every bad guy. We get the ones they can't."

Shiori's face paled, though Yusuke wasn't sure why. Finally she asked, "Yusuke, has…have any of you…ever killed someone?"

This he should lie to her about. More than anything else, he couldn't tell Shiori that her son was a murderer. Because that's how she would see it. Everything they'd done, they'd done to save the world, but unless she knew the whole truth, Shiori would never be able to see that. All she would understand is that they had killed.

But that look in her eyes; begging him to tell her the truth, and begging that his answer be no, even if it was a lie. That look stole the will to lie from Yusuke; but he was still unwilling to tell the truth, so Yusuke didn't say anything.

Shiori closed her eyes and rested her head on the steering wheel. Belatedly, Yusuke realized that by not saying anything, he'd said yes.

"Even…" she started to say, but didn't finish. She didn't have to though.

"Yeah, even him."

Shiori got out of the car and shut the door. Yusuke climbed out as well and silently followed Shiori into the store. They didn't speak there, or on the way back to her house. When they pulled into the drive, Yusuke spoke up.

"Mrs. M? I'm sorry this hurts you."

"I know Yusuke."

* * *

Something was wrong. It was obvious in the way she carried herself, in her tone of voice, in the way her smiles wouldn't reach her eyes. Kurama knew there was something badly amiss, but couldn't for the life of him figure out what had upset Shiori so much.

Yusuke knew. Kurama could see that in his guilty glances, and the half hearted way he ate his food. Unfortunately, Kurama was unable to get Yusuke alone to ask what had happened. Shiori was always to close, and eventually it came time for Yusuke to leave.

Kurama walked Yusuke to the door, but before he could ask any of his questions, Yusuke whispered, "I'll explain tomorrow."

Kurama nodded, though he wanted to know right now.

Yusuke left and Kurama walked back to the living room. Sara had already gone upstairs and Shiori was sitting on the couch, looking up at the ceiling.

"Mother?" Kurama asked.

She didn't look at him, but Kurama knew she was listening.

"Mother, what's wrong?"

It was a moment before Shiori spoke. "Have you ever wished that you could lie to yourself? That you could tell yourself something wasn't true, even though you know it is?"

Kurama felt dread build up inside him. He didn't say anything though, waiting for Shiori to finish.

She turned her head to look at him. "Why do you have files on girls from your school in your room?"

Kurama froze. How did she know about that? Had she searched his room? And why was she asking him that now? It wasn't what had upset her while gone with Yusuke. Even Yusuke didn't know about those files. What explanation could he giver her that she would believe?

Shiori smiled when he didn't say anything, though it looked hollow. "I didn't really think you'd tell me." She stood and walked to the steps leading up to the bedrooms. She stopped at the bottom of the steps though.

"Shuichi…no matter what happens, I'll always love you." She turned and smiled at him, and though it was a sad smile, it was real. "Because you see, in the end that's what real mothers do. We love our children, no matter who they are or what they do. You'll never be able to do anything so horrible that I'll hate you."

Then she walked away.


	16. Chapter 16

Crazy is a miracle worker! She wrote this in two days! Two days folks! But here it is, the first "new" chapter in the story in a year!. Dont forget to read the contest guidelines. The contest is to celebrate the new chapter.

* * *

Sara stood by the front door, waiting on Shuichi to walk to school. Shifting her bag from one hand to the other, she wondered about how Shiori had been acting that morning. She had been unusually quiet.

A small flash of light caught Sara's eyes, and she looked to see some change lying on the table by the plant. Glancing around to make sure no one would see her; Sara scooped up the change and settled it in her pocket, ignoring the stab of guilt as she did so.

"Sorry for making you wait, Sara."

Sara jumped at the sound of Shuichi's voice and turned quickly, hoping he hadn't seen her take that money. He just smiled at her.

"I didn't mean to startle you."

Sara shrugged uncomfortably. "I should have been paying attention."

Shuichi opened the door for her. "Let's head out, shall we?"

Sara walked outside and down the front walk to the sidewalk. For a while neither she nor Shuichi spoke.

After a few minutes, Shuichi said, "You know, I never did explain the color coding of kitsunes to you. Since you are half kitsune, it is something you should know."

Sara nodded, "Okay."

"The color of a kitsunes fur let's you know how powerful they are. The most powerful of the kitsunes are the golden kitsunes. At birth they are class B or class A, which means they are very powerful. However, golden kitsunes are also very rare. I know only of four in existence today, and they are not allowed anywhere near Human World, so like as not you will never meet one.

"The second most powerful kitsune is the shadow kitsune. As you might have guessed, they have black fur. Besides shadows, those kitsunes can also control any liquid in existence, including the blood in your body, which is what makes them so dangerous. However, unlike golden kitsunes, shadow kitsunes are born very weak, and do not come into their full power until they have completely matured. They are also rarer than golden kitsunes; I only know of two living today.

"After shadow kitsunes come fire, ice, and silver kitsunes. These three groups are generally about the same power. Then come brown kitsunes. Brown kitsunes are the weakest of the kitsunes power wise. However, because of their lack of power, they are also known as the cleverest of all kitsunes. They are the most numerous of the kitsunes."

"Why aren't there more of the golden and shadow kitsunes?" Sara asked.

Shuichi shrugged. "I suppose it's because there is no guarantee that a kit will be the same type of kitsune as their parents. Two golden kitsunes may have a brown kitsune, or two ice kitsunes may have a fire kitsune. That's just how it works. Now, it is more likely that a kit will be the same as at least one of the parents, but it is never certain."

Sara nodded. "Oh, okay. Um, what kind of kitsune are you?"

"Silver."

"Really?" she asked, surprised. She wouldn't have guessed silver.

Shuichi looked amused. "Were you guessing fire?"

Sara blushed slightly. "Well, yes."

"You have not seen me in my kitsune form yet. It looks quite different from this."

"Good morning, Shuichi."

Sara jumped slightly, but Shuichi just calmly turned and nodded at Kaito. "Good morning."

Kaito smiled at Sara as well. "Good morning Sara. I didn't expect to see you until lunch."

Sara shifted uncomfortably. "Good morning."

Shuichi glanced down at her. "Oh, I should probably go ahead and tell you that Kaito knows about Yusuke, Hiei, Kuwabara, and I being Spirit Detectives."

Kaito and Sara both looked surprised.

"I take it Sara is the hanyou then?" Kaito asked. "The last time we spoke about this, you weren't one hundred percent sure."

"A lot happened over the weekend," Shuichi said dryly.

"Apparently," Kaito said. "You'll have to tell me about it sometime, Kurama."

"Later," Shuichi said. "Maya's coming."

Moments later, Maya appeared. "Hey, everybody! How's it going?"

"Good morning, Maya," Shuichi said.

"Oh Sara! Are you walking with us this morning?"

Sara nodded. "Yeah, I am."

Maya grinned. "Great! It's nice to have another girl along. Now I'm not outnumbered by those silly boys."

"One of those 'silly boys' is your partner in the big project," Kaito said dryly.

Maya stuck her tongue out at him. "You care too much about your own grades to make me fail, so I can say whatever I want." Maya turned back to Sara. "Kaito and I are doing our project on alligators. What about you and Shuichi?"

It took Sara a moment to remember what project Maya was talking about. So much had happened that weekend that she'd forgotten all about school. "We're doing foxes."

"Really? That's cool. Foxes are pretty cute. Aren't they hunted for their fur in England, or something?"

Sara nodded. "I think so."

"That's really sad. But you know, I like alligators better than foxes. There are so many neat things about alligators! Like, did you know an alligator can climb a six foot fence?"

"We'd best get our things from our lockers and head to class," Shuichi said, saving Sara from the overload of alligator information that Maya was sure to give. "School is going to start soon."

The four split up to go to their lockers. Along the way, Sara noticed something odd. Several of the girls were glaring at her. Why Sara didn't know, as she had never once spoken to any of these girls, and didn't even know their names. Still, the glares unnerved her, and she got her things quickly and retreated to the safety of her class room.

* * *

The school day ended quickly, more so than Sara would have liked. After the insane event s of the weekend, Sara enjoyed having a normal day. Sara walked out of the school building with Shuichi, Kaito and Maya.

"Do you guys have plans?" Maya asked.

"I'm afraid so," Shuichi said. "Sara and I have to meet up with someone, and then we need to work on the project."

Maya pouted. "Aw, I wanted us to hang out."

"Don't worry Maya," Kaito said. "You and I can hang out. While we work on the project that is."

Maya made a face. "You're no fun Kaito."

Kaito waved. "I'll see you two later."

Sara and Shuichi waved back. When Kaito and Maya were out of earshot, Sara asked, "Where are we going?"

"I need to speak to Yusuke. It'll only take a few minutes."

Sara nodded and followed Shuichi down the walk and out the school gates. Along the way she noticed several more girls glaring at her. Feeling once more rather frightened, she moved closer to Shuichi and placed one hand on his arm for comfort.

_Ack! I think their glares just intensified._

"What's wrong Sara?" Shuichi asked.

Sara looked up at him. "Um, some of those girls were glaring at me, and it was kind of…scary."

Shuichi glanced back and winced. "Oh, dear."

"Why were they mad at me?" Sara asked.

Shuichi sighed. "I'm afraid that some of the girls at school have become rather obsessed with me. Now they do not like it if they see any girl getting close to me. You do not have to worry about them trying to actually hurt you, but they will certainly be…unpleasant. I would advise you to try and not be alone at school."

_I guess taking a hold of his arm was probably a bad idea then._

Sara glared at the offending appendage that still rested on Shuichi's arm. She should probably move it.

_Still, the damage has already been done…and Shuichi doesn't seem to mind…_

Blushing, Sara decided to leave her hand where it was. It couldn't do any more harm now after all.

* * *

Kurama wished that Sara would move her hand, and then again, he was quite content to have it where it was. It was distracting, but in a pleasant way. However, he did not need to be distracted at all right now.

Kurama glanced down at her face. Sara was blushing, and looking down, making her cuter than usual.

_Well,_ he thought looking ahead again, _I suppose it won't really hurt anything if I let her._

"Hey, Kurama, hey Sara."

Kurama's eyes focused on Yusuke. "Hello, Yusuke. We were just coming to see you."

Yusuke rubbed the back of his head, looking sheepish. "Yeah, I figured. That's why I came to meet you. Want to go to the Java Lava?"

Kurama was about to suggest they go to Yusuke's house instead, but caught sight of the hopeful look on Sara's face and changed his mind. If Sara really wanted to go, Kurama supposed that Yusuke's and his talk could happen there.

"Very well."

The three walked to the Java Lava, a fairly popular café, though since school had only just let out it wasn't too crowded yet. They sat at a small table off by itself in a corner. A waitress came over and smiled at them.

"What can I get you all today?"

"I'll have a regular coffee, black," Yusuke said.

"I would like caramel frappuccino," Kurama said.

"And for you Miss?" the waitress asked.

"I'd like hot apple cider, please," Sara said.

"Coming right up," she said as she walked away.

"How was school?" Yusuke asked.

"Fine," Kurama said. "Did you actually go to school today?"

Yusuke sighed. "Yeah. We had some test going on that Keiko said I couldn't miss."

"How did you do?"

"Pretty sure I flunked it," Yusuke said with a shrug.

"You are never going to get into a good college with that attitude, Yusuke."

"Who said I wanted to go to college?"

"What will you do if you don't go to college?" Sara asked.

"Well…I dunno. Never really thought much about the future. My problems right now always seemed more important."

"What would you like to do after you finish school, Sara?" Kurama asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, um, I always kind of wanted to work in a daycare, with small children."

"Really?" Kurama tipped his head to the side. "I think that work would suite you."

Sara blushed rather unexpectedly. He hadn't thought that statement would get such a reaction.

"Here's your drinks," the waitress said setting them down.

"Thank you," Kurama said with a smile as she set them down.

"Not a problem. Just holler if you need anything."

There was silence for a few minutes as the three simply enjoyed their drinks. During this moment of silence Kurama's thoughts went back to the conversation he wanted to have with Yusuke. How should he bring it up? Should he bring it up in front of Sara? It might be something she should not hear, but he could not very well tell her to leave.

"I'll be right back," Sara said. She slipped out of the chair and walked in the direction of the restrooms.

Once Sara was out of earshot, Kurama said, "So Yusuke, do you want to tell me about what happened between you and my mother?"

"Not really, but I will anyways. But before I tell you, remember this! I suck at making up lies, and it was either what I said, or the truth."

Kurama's eyes narrowed. "Yusuke. What happened?"

Yusuke took a swig of his coffee. "Okay, short version. Your mom knows something's up. Apparently she called the school and found out they don't have any record of those 'school trips' you went on. She wanted me to tell her what was going on, and I panicked a bit."

"What did you tell her, Yusuke?" Kurama asked keeping the panic he was feeling now from his voice.

"She thinks that you, I, Kuwabara, and Hiei are members of a gang, and that we've murdered people," Yusuke said in a rush.

Kurama sat and stared at Yusuke in silence. _I must not kill Yusuke. I must not kill Yusuke._

There was a sudden explosion, with enough force to knock the customers off their feet. There was a scream, and Kurama's head jerked up. "Sara!"

They ran to the restroom, and Kurama knocked the door open. Sara was sitting near the door, frightened, but unharmed. On the other side of the room, there was a gaping hole in the wall. Standing in the hole was a yokai with a giant scythe over one shoulder.

"Hey there," he said. "The name's Kamiso. You two have something I want." He grinned at Sara. "Or should I say someone?"

"Oh yeah?" Yusuke said stepping forward. "Why don't you try and get her?"

"I intended to," Kamiso said, and lunged towards them with his scythe leading.

Kurama grabbed Sara and leapt out of the way, and Yusuke jumped the other way. Kamiso's swing destroyed the other wall, and Kurama heard the patrons of the cafe screaming.

_We've got to get out of here. There are too many people._

Still holding Sara, Kurama ran for the exit that Kamiso had created, and Yusuke followed his lead. They ran into the ally way, but had to dodge another attack before they could go anywhere.

"Why are you trying to run away?" Kamiso sneered. "Don't you want to stay and fight?"

"I'll keep him busy," Yusuke said. "You get Sara out of here."

Yusuke charged Kamiso, and Kurama turned and ran, not looking back to see whether or not any of Yusuke's attacks landed. At the moment, getting Sara to safety was his top priority.

* * *

Yusuke leapt back from the barrage of punches he had sent Kamiso's way. To his frustration, not one had landed. Kamiso had blocked every hit with his scythe.

Kamiso grinned widely. "My turn."

Kamiso jumped impossibly high in the air, and raised his scythe to bring down on Yusuke's head. Yusuke smirked. _Got you._

Yusuke pointed his finger at Kamiso and shouted, "Spirit Gun!"

Kamiso's eyes widened and he brought his scythe in front of him to block the attack. He hung in midair, suspended by the Spirit Gun and the energy he was using to try and stop it. Suddenly, Kamiso twisted and shoved, sending Yusuke's Spirit Gun hurtling into a half built building.

"Oh, crap!"

Yusuke ran towards the building, where twisted metal and clumps of brick fell towards the crowded street below. Doing the only thing he could think of, Yusuke pointed at the falling debris. "Spirit Gun!"

The powerful blast incinerated the debris, and the rest of the building, before it could hit anyone.

Yusuke sighed with relief when he saw no one was hurt. Then he remembered his enemy. Whirling around, Yusuke couldn't see Kamiso anywhere.

"Ah, crap. This day can't get any worse."

* * *

Shuichi was leaping from building to building, and Sara was nestled tightly in his arms. Sara trembled in fear as she clutched his shirt. That man…the one with the giant scythe…he was one of the people that wanted to capture her, and Yusuke was going to fight him by himself!

Sara had realized right away when she'd found out that people were after her that she could, and probably would, get hurt. It hadn't occurred to her that any of the boys might be harmed.

"Going somewhere, fox?"

Shuichi stopped and turned to look at Kamiso, his normally gentle eyes hard. "You would be wise to stop this."

Kamiso shook his head. "You don't know my master obviously. If I don't kill you and get the girl, he'll kill me. So I really can't give up."

Shuichi set Sara down. "Stay back, Sara."

Sara stepped back several steps. Shuichi slid his fingers through his hair and pulled out a rose.

_What the? He's going to fight Kamiso with a flower?_

"Die, Yoko Kurama!"

Kamiso swung the scythe sideways at Shuichi, who jumped into the air.

"Rose Whip!"

The rose turned into a long, thorny, green whip and wrapped around Kamiso's scythe. Shuichi landed behind a shocked looking Kamiso. He yanked his arm, and the scythe fell to the roof in multiple pieces.

Kamiso jumped away from Shuichi, a grimace on his face.

"You've lost," Shuichi said coldly.

"Not yet. I've still got another trick up my sleeve." Kamiso pointed one glowing hand at Sara. "Kill me, or save her!"

"Sara, run!"

A blast of energy flew from Kamiso's hand, and Sara stood immobilized. It slammed into her, knocking the air from her lungs, and tossing her back several feet. She remembered belatedly that she was on top of a building, and her last conscious thought was that she was falling to her death.

* * *

Kurama dived off the roof after Sara. Propelled by his speed, he was able to grab a hold of her and twist his body so that he hit the ground first. Pain washed over him, but dulled quickly. Luckily the building they were on top of had only been a two story building. Any taller and the fall could have been much worse. Still, he would be sore for at least the rest of the day.

Kurama sat up and examined Sara. She didn't appear badly hurt. He couldn't find any broken bones, and Kurama didn't see any new bruises, though he knew she would be very sore for a while.

"Kurama!"

Kurama looked up to see Yusuke running towards them.

"Are you two okay?"

"We'll be fine. Sara's unconscious, but I don't think she's badly hurt."

Yusuke crouched down in front of them. "She must not be; she's waking up."

Kurama looked down in time to see her eyes flutter open. "How are you feeling, Sara?"

"Like I was hit by a truck," Sara mumbled.

"Well," Yusuke said, "it could be worse."

"Let's go home," Kurama said. "I think you need to rest after this."

Yusuke walked them home, and left when they were in sight of the house. Before they'd even finished walking up the drive the front door flew open and Shiori ran out and wrapped them both in a hug.

"Oh, thank God! I was so worried when I heard about that terrorist attack on that café, and you two didn't come home right away! Are you all right?"

"We're fine, Mother," Kurama soothed.

Shiori pulled back slightly and studied their appearance. Her face paled. "You two were _there_."

Kurama nodded. "We were, but we're fine. Neither of us was hurt badly."

"Badly?!"

"We did get tossed into a wall by the bomb they used, and I imagine we're both sore from that, but it's nothing a few day rest won't set to rights. Right Sara?"

Sara nodded. "Really, Mrs. M, we're fine."

Kurama was surprised that Sara used Yusuke and Kuwabara's nickname for Shiori, but it seemed to do the trick. Shiori did relax, at least some.

"Come on in then, and I'll make you two something to eat, and then you can go to bed."

Shiori herded them inside, and Kurama thought that, for one night at least, it wouldn't be a bad idea to let Shiori pamper him.

* * *

**Contest Guidelines:**

**Art Contest:**

Draw a picture of a character from Sara's Story. It does not have to be of Kurama and/or Sara, it can be any character from the story. E-mail the picture to us (our e-mail is on our profile). It must be turned in by the deadline, or we won't be able to consider it!

**The deadline for the Art Contest is August 25th.**

**Drabble Contest:**

Write a drabble up to 500 words long (it can be shorter than that). It has to be based in the Sara's Story universe, but like the fan art does not necessarily have to be about Kurama or Sara. You could do it about Mokie and Shiori or something.

A note to this contest! A couple grammar mistakes are okay, but we want you to try and put it in proper English! In other words, NO CHAT SPEAK! Thank you.

The deadline for the Drabble Contest is August 25th.

Prizes:

The winner of each contest will get a one shot dedicated to them of whatever idea they give us. Or, if it works well enough, we might even put it in Sara's Story. By the by, for the one shot ideas, we don't do lemons, yaoi, or yuri. Please don't even bother to ask for that. It won't happen. Ever.

Also, the winning picture will become our icon on our profile.

Good luck and have fun!


	17. Chapter 17

And here is chapter17, courtesy of Syco! You should all applaud her for her fine work.

Don't forget about the contest! Deadline is August 25th, so there's still plenty of time to join in! (If you don't know the details, check out our profie.)

* * *

Kurama awoke with the feeling that this was going to be a Very Bad Week. He lay in bed a few minutes wondering just where this feeling came from.

He shook his head, of course, yesterday the group that was after Sara had attacked them, and so the feeling was most likely just a remnant of what had happened. That and the fact that yesterday he had learned that Yusuke had told his mother that he was a murderer.

Kurama felt some of the hot rage he felt yesterday. How dare Yusuke tell his mother that!

**Maybe we should just tell her the truth, mmm? **A voice whispered in his mind.

_No!_ Kurama hissed back._ That is a bad idea. Tell her the truth? The truth that her son is not only a murderer, but also a thief, The King of Thieves in one world? The truth that I am not human, that she has never really had a child that was normal? Oh, I think not._

**Better now than later**, Yoko responded, sounding for once like his age. However, Kurama ignored that.

_How about never?!_ Kurama snarled. Yoko said no more.

* * *

Sara stretched in her bed; it had felt so nice to be pampered last night. She smiled, since coming here she had been treated so nicely. Then she frowned, if only there was nothing to worry her, like Shuichi not being human, her not being human, and someone out to get her. Then maybe she could stay… no better to not let those kind of thoughts enter her mind. Not when she knew that she had to leave.

Speaking of leaving, it was time to go to school. Sara stood up and stretched again, she was sore from yesterday. Her face colored, Sara couldn't believe that Suichi had caught her like that! And, she had landed on top of him to boot!

Her face fell; of course, it was his job to keep her safe. And if she was feeling sore from landing on him, imagine what he felt! Poor Shuichi.

* * *

Shiori watched her son and Sara leave for school. _I hope nothing happens to them today_, she thought, _after all there are a lot of things to do. I must get legal permission for Sara to stay here. Shouldn't be too hard, what with my job with abused children. _

Then Shiori gave an oddly wolfish grin, _the head of the department also likes me, so that makes the whole process a lot easier._ Then the grin disappeared, _Of course, I need to confront Shuichi about what Yusuke told me. Maybe, just maybe, he will tell me the truth._

Shiori quickly washed the morning dishes, and then got ready for her war—that is to say, her day.

* * *

Yusuke stretched, and checked the clock. _About noon then? Glad I decided not to go to school today._ He lay back down, intent on enjoying rest and silence.

Bang!

Yusuke shot up into a fighting stance. _What in the world was that?_

Bang!

He looked around, and then relaxed when he realized it was just someone at the front door. Yusuke made his way there, carefully stepping over the carry out boxes and his mother, who was half on and half off the couch.

Bang!

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" He shouted. "Blasted impatient people, probably just a sales man, or a girl scout selling cookies," Yusuke muttered under his breathe.

He yanked the door open, "Whatever you're selling, I'm not…" He trailed off.

"Koenma? Botan?"

There on his doorstep was the prince of Spirit World—in teenage form—and the bubbly ferry guide.

"Just let us in Yusuke and I'll explain everything." Koenma said quickly.

Yusuke silently stepped to the side.

The two entered and made their way to his bedroom, leaving Yusuke at the door.

"Yeah, go ahead, make yourselves at home. Don't mind me, I just live here." Yusuke grumbled as he too went to his room.

After Yusuke shut his bedroom door—not that his mother would really care right now if she did hear anything—he asked, "How did you guys get here? I thought the portals were blocked?"

Koenma sat down, "They are. We took a portal that I opened for just a few seconds. I'm hoping that our adversary didn't even notice it."

"So why did you come?" Yusuke took a seat on his bed.

"Koenma found out who is behind everything." Botan said, "We had to come here to warn you guys."

Yusuke shrugged, "So what? You found what guy I have to beat up, what about it?"

Koenma spoke, gaining the air of a teacher, "His name is Jack, and he is like nothing you have ever fought before."

Yusuke grinned, "You sure are scared. This guy can't be that bad. He wants to take over the world, right? Just like every other big bad dude."

"Wrong. He doesn't want to take over the world, he just wants out of his box."

Yusuke did laugh then, "So he's like a Jack-in-a-box? How scary."

"Just shut up and let me tell you the story."

Yusuke opened his mouth to say something, but a glare from Koenma silenced him. _This guy really scares Koenma._

"Long ago, before I was even born, there were two main active powers in this universe. There was the Guardian, who fought on the side of justice, and there was Jack, who was evil personified. They were equally matched, but they fought completely different. The Guardian preferred to do things herself, depending on no one. Jack was the complete opposite. He enjoyed twisting people's minds, using others to do his dirty work. It is said that every evil act can be traced back to him, in one form or another.

"Then one day their wars tore apart our world. That is how we became the three worlds—Human, Demon, and Spirit World. The Guardian decided that enough was enough, and tricked Jack into a box that he could never escape from. However the effort of locking him inside drained her, so much so that she entered a deep sleep, only to awaken after Jack was released from the box."

Yusuke interrupted, "But you just said it was a box that he couldn't get out of."

"Yes Yusuke. He couldn't get himself out of it, but every prison had its keys. The way to get out off the box involves some kind of sacrifice, but we couldn't find the specifics. In addition, Jack may not be able to get out, but others can get in. I believe that someone has entered the box and Jack has ensnared them. That's why all this is happening now."

Yusuke shrugged, "He sounds pretty powerful, but why don't we go into the box and kill him? Solves all our problems."

Koenma rolled his eyes, "First, we don't know where the box is. Second, Jack is immortal, truly immortal. Nothing we do will kill him."

"Crap." Then Yusuke's brain finally caught up with his ears, "Wait you said that him escaping involved a sacrifice?"

Koenma nodded, "That's right."

"Hiei said that the bad guy most likely wanted Sara for a sacrifice…"

Yusuke swore.

* * *

Shiori was in the kitchen cooking when the kids got home from school.

"Mother, we're home."

"Hey kids, come to the kitchen. I have wonderful news!"

Her son and Sara quickly came to the kitchen. Shiori hugged Sara as soon as she saw her. "You have been declared emancipated! Oh dear, now I have flour all over you."

Sara however stood still, "I've been what?"

"You have been declared a legal adult. It took a bit of string pulling"—_and a promise of a date_—"but it is done! You are so close to your seventeenth birthday and what with your father being deported that they agreed to it!"

Sara however fled upstairs. Shuichi started to go after her, but Shiori stopped him.

"Wait Shuichi. She needs some time alone. Why don't you help me with the celebratory meal?"

"Of course, Mother."

They set to work on the meal, but Shiori's mind wasn't focused on it. Instead, she was thinking about the two children in her house. One was taken care of physically; no one would ever mess with Sara as long as she was under her roof! Now Shiori just needed to help her mentally, and that included finding out what had happened on that walk with Shuichi.

Shuichi was another matter entirely. She just didn't know what to think. He hid so much from her, but she was determined to get back into his life, using whatever means necessary. Tonight…no, not tonight, tonight was about Sara and Shiori did not want to spoil the night for her with confrontations and accusations of Shuichi being in that horrible gang.

* * *

Caius smirked, heading towards the room Jack was in. It seemed that Jack had decided to call another meeting. _My, my, my, so soon after the failure of Kamiso? Might Jack be displeased?_

Caius strode into the room noticing that he was the first one there. He bowed to where Jack was sitting in his chair, not lounging as he had been the day before. It seemed that Jack was very displeased.

"Caius."

"Master."

Jack sighed, "It seems that you were right. Kamiso is a complete failure." He leaned back in his chair, "I believe that I will kill him today."

Caius's face grew thoughtful, "He could still be useful, in a minor way."

Jack looked at him, "Oh really? Yes, I suppose he could be useful as cannon fodder; I just don't know if he would mess that us somehow too." He stood up then and began pacing, "All the humans saw him, he completely failed, and now those silly detectives will be even more on their guard!" Jack's rant ended with a shout and a few shattered vases.

"Do not worry, Master. I have a plan."

Jack stopped pacing, "You do? Well, I suppose that's to be expected, you're the type to have several plans." He gave Caius a searching look, "Alright, I will not kill Kamiso today and I will give you another chance to prove your worth to me."

Caius bowed again, hiding his smirk.

The door opened, admitting Kamiso and Jezebel. Kamiso was looking particularly worried. Jezebel looked relieved; she hadn't done anything wrong this time.

"Jezebel."

Jezebel dipped into a deep curtsey, "Master."

"Kamiso."

Kamiso bowed low, "Master." He straightened, "Might I saw how well—"

"Silence!"

Kamiso quickly shut up.

"I am extremely disappointed in you. Not only did you fail me, but also you failed in a spectacular way. The detectives fought you, and you lost. The humans saw you, and you brought down a building. And you still failed!"

Kamiso looked startled, "But Master, why would you care if the humans saw me or I brought down a building? You are too powerful to care."

Caius looked at Jack. His nostrils were flaring and his pitch-black eyes were starting to have a reddish tint to them. Maybe Kamiso wouldn't survive this encounter.

"You are an idiot. I got in this box somehow, didn't I? Someone put me here, right? Do you think that I want to attract their attention while I'm still in this box?" Jack reached out and grabbed Kamiso's throat. "Is anything I'm saying getting through that thing that houses your fragile mind!?"

Kamiso quickly nodded, "Yes sir, of course sir. I understand."

Jack gave him a look of disgust, but didn't kill him; instead he threw him to the side, into the wall.

"You are now to obey Caius in whatever he commands you to do. His methods may be slow, but at least he knows the meaning of subtle."

Kamiso painfully raised himself to his knees, "Of course master, I will do as you command."

"Good. Now get out of my sight if you wish to live."

Kamiso fled.

Once he was gone, Jezebel moved to where Jack was seated in his chair.

"Why don't you let me give you a massage to make you feel better?" She put her hands on his shoulders, "After all, being all tense won't help you."

Jack shook his head, "No, Jezebel, not now. I'm afraid I have more work that I must take care of. Maybe another time." His voice was full of sorrow and wishful thinking. However, his eyes…Caius shuddered mentally. Anyone with a stare that flat and with no soul was simply unbelievable.

Jezebel pouted and crossed her arms, "Fine. What would you have me do now?"

"Your orders are the same as Kamiso's. Obey Caius."

Jezebel froze and glared at Caius, but her voice was honey sweet, "As you wish Master."

She walked out, still glaring at Caius.

"Caius."

"Yes?"

Jack turned to him, a glint in his eyes, "Tell me, what are these plans of yours?"


	18. Chapter 18

Here is the next chapter in Sara's Story! Crazy did such a good job, with lots of pages and lots of words! Remember we own nothing but our original characters and our plot. Thank you and enjoy!

* * *

_Shiori was surrounded by blackness. It enfolded her, like a smothering blanket. No matter where she looked, she couldn't see. She couldn't feel the ground beneath her; it was as if she were floating in a mass of nothingness._

_A pinprick of light appeared in the distance. Shiori struggled towards it, seemingly swimming in the air. As she got closer to the light, she saw Shuichi standing in it with his back to her._

_"Shuichi, help me!"_

_He ignored her. He kept his back turned, refusing to look at her. Shiori could feel the darkness begin to pull her away from him._

_Panic swelled in her. "Shuichi, please! Shuichi! KURAMA!"_

_He turned then. But it wasn't him. At least, not the version that Shiori knew. Shiori got the vague impression of claws, fangs, scales, and fur, but that wasn't what kept her attention. It was his eyes. His eyes were a blazing gold, cruel, all knowing. He glared at her with all the disdain of a king who has stepped in something foul. A feral snarl curled his lips and he lunged at her, claws outstretched._

_Shiori dived away from him, and a scream of terror was ripped from her lips as she fell headlong into an endless abyss._

Shiori sat straight up in bed, her heart pounding, and bit back a scream. She was panting, and a fine sheen of sweat covered her brow.

"What…a horrible…dream," Shiori said. She'd had nightmares before, but never one like that. Shiori shuddered. It had felt so real…

Shiori looked at the clock. It was a bit after four in the morning. There was no way that she could go back to sleep after a nightmare like that. She slipped out from under the covers and went over to her closet. If she was up this early, she had time for a long shower.

Shiori walked down the hall as quietly as she could. She didn't want to wake up Shuichi or Sara if she could help it. Shiori got to the bathroom without a mishap, and enjoyed a hot steamy shower, letting the warm water ease her tense muscles. The horror of the dream began to fade from her mind.

_It was just a stupid dream. Whatever Shuichi may have done, whatever he may be, he is NOT a monster, and he wouldn't hurt me. _

Shiori finished her shower and wrapped herself in a comfy house robe. She slipped back to her room and shut the door quietly. Looking at the clock, she saw it wasn't quite five yet. Shiori sighed. She still wasn't tired, and had at least an hour to wait before she could wake up the kids without feeling guilty.

"Well, I could always pick out an outfit for my date Friday. Mr. Hatanaka said it was going to be at Choryo's, that fancy restaurant, and I'm not sure I have anything."

Shiori walked over to her closet and peered in. She hadn't worn her dressier outfits in years. She hadn't had a reason to. Shiori hadn't been on a date since Hatori had died. At first, it had been because she had been grieving for her late husband, and when the pain had finally started to abate, all her time had been taken raising Shuichi by herself. The thought of striking up a new romance had just never crossed her mind.

Mr. Hatanaka wasn't a bad person. In fact, Shiori rather liked him. She'd just never thought of having him as anything other than a friend.

However, Shiori was discovering that ten years could really change a person's body. None of her fancy outfits fit her anymore.

"I can't have gained that much weight!" Shiori said in despair. But the dresses that refused to zip or button up said otherwise. Shiori searched the racks of clothes. She had plenty of casual and work clothes, but nothing dressy.

Shiori sighed. "There's nothing for it. I'll have to go shopping." Shiori winced at that thought. She wasn't poor, but she'd just spent close to a thousand dollars buying Sara new clothes. Not that Shiori begrudged Sara any of that; she'd needed them badly. But Shiori no longer had the spare money to spend on a dress she'd likely only wear once.

"Drat that man. Why'd he have to pick a place that was so fancy for the first date?"

Her alarm went off, letting her know that it was now six o' clock. Shiori shut it off and changed into the outfit that she was wearing to work.

_Some good could come of this though. I could invite Sara to go shopping with me and finally get to speak with her alone._

Shiori was pleased with that idea. No doubt Shuichi wouldn't care to come and Shiori would finally be able to ask Sara what had happened on that walk.

Shiori went downstairs and started on breakfast. It was only a few minutes before Shuichi walked in the kitchen. "Good morning, Shuichi," Shiori said, ignoring the memory of her nightmare.

"Good morning," he said pleasantly enough, though he didn't give her a good morning hug and kiss like he usually would have. Not that Shiori had expected one. There was too much tension between the two of them for that.

Shiori heard the shower turn on upstairs as Shuichi started to set the table. She needed to talk to him, and now seemed as good a time as any.

"Shuichi," she said.

"Yes?"

"We need to talk about this gang you're in."

Shuichi stilled, and stared at the table a moment, and then turned to look at her. For a moment, Shiori thought she was back in her nightmare. Shuichi had never looked at her with such cold, empty eyes before.

"What about it?" he asked in a monotone voice.

Shiori slipped the pan of cinnamon buns she'd been working on in the oven before speaking. "Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"Gang members don't normally tell their parents about what they are doing."

Shiori felt a flush of anger. "That's not what I meant, and you know it. Why didn't you tell me when I started asking you questions? Don't you think it would have been better for me to find out from you than from Yusuke?"

"It would have been better if you had never found out at all."

"Did you seriously think I wouldn't? Did you honestly believe I'd never start asking questions? Of course I'm going to ask questions! I'm your mother! If something is going on with you, I want to know."

"It would be safer for you if you didn't."

"Safer? How exactly would I be safer? If a gang that was angry at you decided to come after me, and I didn't know about any of this, I'd be in even more danger, because I wouldn't realize there was any danger waiting for me until too late. If I know that someone may come after me, I could at least be somewhat prepared."

Shuichi stared at her, the look on his face saying that this thought had never occurred to him.

"Shuichi, I want you to quit this gang of yours."

Shuichi shook his head. "I cannot."

"Why not? What's forcing you to be in this gang?"

Shuichi closed his eyes. "I am. It is my choice to do what I do."

Shiori wanted to cry. But she wouldn't. Not now. "Do you understand what will happen if you're caught, Shuichi? You'll go to jail for murder! You're old enough now that they might even give you the death penalty! At the very least, your future will be ruined. Have you thought about any of this?"

"I've thought about everything Mother. I know what the risks are, even better than you I think, and I still will not stop doing this."

* * *

Sara stood uncertainly on the steps. She didn't think she was supposed to be hearing this conversation. Still, she stood there and listened, trying to make sense of what she heard. Shiori apparently thought that Shuichi was in some kind of gang, and wanted him to quit.

_The gang must be a cover for the truth about Shuichi not being human._

But Sara didn't quite understand why Shuichi wouldn't tell Shiori the truth, or how exactly Shiori didn't already know.

Sara heard the oven open and close. Then she heard Shiori's voice again. "You won't stop even if I tell you how much this breaks my heart?"

There was a moment of silence. "No."

Sara didn't hear any more conversation. _Maybe now would be a good time to go in and pretend that I didn't hear any of that?_

Before Sara could make up her mind, Shiori appeared on the bottom step, tears already over spilling onto her cheeks.

"Sara!"

Sara shifted guiltily and pretended not to see the tears on her face. "Good morning, Mrs. M."

Shiori gave her a watery smile. "Good morning. I'm afraid I got something in my eyes, and I need to go wash it out." Shiori quickly went up the steps and after hesitating a few seconds, Sara went down.

Shuichi was watching her coldly from behind the kitchen table. "How much of that did you hear?"

Sara stared at her sock clad feet. There wasn't any anger on his face, but Sara knew he was furious. At the moment she felt more frightened of him than she'd ever felt of her father. At least with Harold she knew what to expect. Shuichi was uncharted territory.

"Not much." That wasn't a lie. Sara hadn't heard very much. Just enough to get a feel for what was going on.

"Mother thinks Yusuke, Hiei, Kazuma, and I are in a gang, rather than Spirit Detectives. You will not correct her thinking, understood?"

Sara nodded meekly. She'd agree to anything if Shuichi would just stop looking like that.

"I'll see you at school." Shuichi left her standing there, and seconds later, Sara heard the front door shut, slightly harder than necessary.

Sara walked over to the now cooled cinnamon buns and saw a bowl of frosting sitting on the counter. Wanting to make up for eavesdropping somehow, Sara picked up a butter knife and frosted the cinnamon buns. Shiori came back in the kitchen just as Sara finished the last one.

"Thank you for doing that Sara," Shiori said with a smile. She glanced around. "Where's Shuichi?"

"He already left for school."

Shiori didn't seem surprised by this news. "I see. Well, eat your breakfast and I'll drive you to school this morning."

Sara put two cinnamon buns on a plate for herself and ate quietly. She still felt bad for listening in on what she was sure was supposed to have been a private conversation. "Mrs. M?"

"Yes, dear?"

"I'm sorry I eavesdropped."

Shiori smiled wearily at her. "It's fine Sara. If you're going to be living here, I suppose it's something you need to know about."

They were both quiet as Sara ate the food. Shiori didn't touch any of it, but sipped on a cup of coffee. Finally, Shiori spoke again.

"Sara…what happened on that walk you and Shuichi went on the other day? I never got a chance to ask you about it, but I could tell that something happened. Will you tell me what it was?"

Sara stared at her plate. Shuichi had strictly ordered her not to tell Shiori anything about the truth. But how could she lie to someone who had done nothing but care for her when she didn't even have to?

"Did something happen with a gang?"

Shiori had just given her an out. Sara should grasp it, and tell her that was when she'd found out about Shuichi's gang or something. She opened her mouth to do so, and an image of Shiori's tear stained face flashed through her mind.

"He's not in a gang."

Shiori stared at her. "What?"

Sara swallowed a prickle of fear. Shuichi was going to be so mad at her. "They lied to you. There is no gang."

Shiori's knuckles turned white on the mug she was holding. "Why did they lie?"

"They thought that would be better than the truth."

Shiori took a deep breath. "Can you please tell me what's really going on?"

Sara shook her head. "I'm scared to."

Shiori walked around the table and hugged her. "Sara, it's okay. I promise I'll keep you safe. I won't let anyone hurt you…not even Shuichi."

Sara burrowed into her warm embrace. She wanted to pour everything out to Shiori. She wanted to, but the look on Shuichi's face this morning…

"I don't have time to tell you this morning," she said when she saw the time on the clock. Shiori looked at it as well.

"Okay. Let's head to the car and I'll drive you to school."

They went to the car and Shiori started driving. "You know," she said, "I have to buy a dress tonight for my date Friday. If you came with me we could talk then."

Sara nodded. "Okay." There were a few seconds of silence. "You have a date?!"

Shiori chuckled. "Yes, I have a date with a coworker. He wants to take me to a nice restaurant, but I don't have the right kind of dress for it."

"Does Shuichi know?"

Shiori shook her head. "Not yet. The date was only set up yesterday, and obviously, I didn't get a chance to tell him this morning. I guess I'll have to tell him tonight."

They pulled up to the school. "I'll pick you up from school so we can go to the store, okay?"

Sara got the feeling that Shiori didn't want Shuichi to get a chance to convince her to not say anything. And if Sara were completely honest, she had to admit that there was a chance he could convince her to keep quiet.

"I'll see you after school, then."

Shiori drove away and Sara walked into the halls. It would probably be a good idea to try and avoid Shuichi so he wouldn't have a chance to do anything to stop her from telling Shiori the truth.

_Why bother?_ A part of her asked. _You're just going to leave them. Does it really matter if Shiori knows the truth?_

Sara thought about that for a moment before nodding to herself. _Yes, it does matter. I may be leaving them soon, but Shiori has done so much for me. I owe her this at least._

Sara arrived at her locker and got her books out. She turned and was confronted by a ring of girls. None of them looked happy.

One, whom Sara assumed to be the leader, stepped forward. She was a beautiful girl, tall and elegant, though what Sara noticed more than anything else was the angry glare in her brown eyes.

"New girl," she said. "We need to have a talk."

Sara inched back and found her back pressed against the lockers. "We do?"

"Yes, we do. My name is Beni Loshika, and I am the president of the Shuichi Minamino Fan Club." She leaned forward. "You have been breaking our rules."

"I-I'm sorry, I don't understand."

Beni sighed. "Every girl in this school, even those who deny it, is in love with Shuichi. So, it has been decided that no one girl should try to claim his affections, so that every girl may bask in his glow. Along with this decision came rules. _No_ girl is _ever_ to touch Shuichi. Period. No girl is to eat lunch with Shuichi every day. Once every few months is acceptable, but no more than that. And no girl is allowed to walk with him before or after school."

"But Maya does all those things," Sara said weakly.

"We have officially decided that Maya isn't really a girl," Beni said with a toss of her long dark hair.

"By which you mean you weren't able to intimidate me."

The girls whirled around to see Maya glaring at them. Beni glared back. "Well, if it isn't the She-Man."

Maya rolled her eyes. "Buzz off, vultures. Or else I'll tell Shuichi that you're bullying Sara. You all know how he feels about bullies, don't you?"

The girls' expressions ranged from fear to shock. Beni's was a mask of rage. "We'll get you, She-Man." Beni glared at Sara. "And you too new girl, if you don't start following our rules." With that pronouncement, the girls scurried away.

"Are you okay, Sara?" Maya asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks for helping me."

Maya smiled. "No problem. Those girls are all bark and no bite, so you don't have to worry about them. They might call you some nasty names, but that's about it."

Sara felt relieved. Name-calling wasn't so bad. As long as they didn't try to hurt her, she could handle name-calling.

"Oh, the bell is ringing. Come on, Sara, we've got to get to class."

* * *

Kurama kept an eye on Sara as she ate her food at lunch, while sitting as far from him as possible. She had been avoiding him all day, and he wanted to know why. It could have been because of his temper that morning, but something told him it was not.

She finished her tray of food in ten minutes, and stood to leave.

"Where are you going?" Kaito asked.

"I uh, need to go to the library. I'll see you guys later." She walked, well, power walked to be more exact, out of the lunchroom.

"Oh, I was afraid this would happen!" Maya exclaimed.

"That she would need to go to the school library?" Kaito asked.

Maya rolled her eye. "No, silly, that she would start avoiding Shuichi. Beni cornered Sara at her locker this morning to try and scare her away. I guess it worked a bit." She turned to Kurama. "You have to go after her and let her know its okay to be your friend."

Kurama pushed his food back. "I agree Maya. Thank you for telling me about this."

Kurama walked away thinking. Was that why Sara was avoiding him? It was possible, but somehow Kurama thought not. He was certain there was another reason involved, though he did not know what that reason might be.

He found Sara hiding out at the back of the library. "Sara."

She jumped a foot in the air, and had the look of a deer caught in the headlights.

"Sara, Maya told me about Beni, and what happened this morning. Is that why you are avoiding me?"

Sara bit her lip, and then seemed to come to a decision. She nodded. "Yes. She was really scary."

_She is lying. Or at the very least, she is not telling me the whole truth._

Kurama made a quick decision on how to best get the information out of her. He stepped forward, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her close to him. He used his free hand to catch her chin and tilt her face up to his.

He knew he was manipulating her emotions by using her crush against her. He knew it was a cruel thing to do when he did not return her feelings. However, Kurama wanted to know why Sara was avoiding him, and he wanted to know now. He did not like Sara avoiding him, and he could not fix that unless he knew what was causing it.

Sara's face had turned bright red. "Sh-Shuichi?"

"You aren't telling me everything, are you Sara?" He leaned down 'till their noses were almost touching. "Please tell me what's going on?"

Something flickered in her eyes, and she shoved way from him. "No! It's nothing, really, I was just upset by Beni, is all."

Sara started to walk away from him and Kurama placed a hand on the wall in front of her to block her path. She turned, but he put up his other am, trapping her between them. She pressed her back against the wall as he leaned towards her again.

"Why won't you trust me?" he asked.

Sara bit her lip again, her face once more red, and looked away. "You don't care about me. I'm not your friend. I'm just your job."

Kurama could not have been more surprised if she had said she was in love with Hiei. How could she think that he did not care? He cared for her, if not romantically, at least as a friend.

_**And this stunt is going to prove that you are so trustworthy,**_ Yoko said sarcastically.

"It is true that I am under orders concerning you, but that does not mean I don't care about you. I care about you very much, Sara."

She looked up at him, and Kurama thought she had never looked more vulnerable. "Promise?"

Something inside Kurama melted at that look, and her whispered plea. "I promise, Sara." He gently rubbed her cheek with the back of his hand. "I'll always care about you, and I'll always take care of you."

Sara relaxed, and Kurama saw the relief in her eyes. He found himself leaning into her once more, and tried to pull back. However, his body would not obey his command.

_Yoko!_

Kurama felt his lips press gently against the corner of Sara's mouth. She gasped in surprise, and Kurama felt a shiver run down his spine at the sound.

_Yoko, why did you do that?_

_**I figured as long as you were providing an opportunity I might as well take advantage of it. After all, I am a thief.**_

_But now she is really going to think that I have feelings for her!_

_**You do. You just haven't realized it yet.**_

The bell rang, ending his time with Sara. Kurama straightened. "I'll see you in fourth block."

Still blushing, Sara nodded. "Okay."

When Kurama and Sara walked out of the school that afternoon, they were greeted by Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Koenma, and Botan. Kurama raised his eyebrows at them.

"I am guessing you have information for us."

Yusuke nodded. "Yeah, and most of its bad."

"Before that," Koenma said, "let me introduce myself. Miss Sara, my name is Koenma, Prince of the Spirit World. This here is Botan, my assistant."

Sara nodded at him, half hidden behind Kurama.

"Shall we go to Yusuke's house so I can update you on the mission?" Koenma asked.

Kurama was about to reply to the affirmative when another voice spoke up. "There you are Sara! I was looking for you."

Kurama turned wide eyes to Shiori. "Mother? What are you doing here?"

Shiori smiled at him. "I need to by a dress for my date the day after tomorrow, and Sara said she'd come with me. I'm afraid you'll have to fix dinner yourself, Shuichi."

"You need a dress for your what?"

Shiori giggled. "My date."

"Go, Mrs. M!" Kuwabara said. "You're getting back in the game!"

Shiori laughed at that. "Thank you, Kazuma. Are you ready to go, Sara?"

Sara nodded. "See you guys later."

They walked away and Kurama glared after them. She was going on a date? When had that happened, and whom exactly was she going with?

"Hiei, follow them," Koenma said. "We can't let Sara go by herself."

Hiei did not complain like Kurama might have expected, but went after them without a word. Koenma looked at Kurama. "I guess we'll have to let you decide how much of this information to share with Sara. Let's head over to Yusuke's though so I can explain everything."

* * *

Shiori was relieved that she'd managed to get away without Shuichi. She had wondered who that man and girl were, but had been afraid if she stayed around to find out Shuichi would somehow manage to invite himself along to prevent her from talking with Sara.

Speaking of which, Shiori wondered what exactly they would wind up discussing. She couldn't think of anything that could be worse than what Yusuke and Shuichi had told her…unless they were not actually a sort of 'police' gang, and committed other horrible crimes. But no, Sara had said there was no gang, so that couldn't be it.

"Sara," Shiori said, "would you rather have the talk now, or later?"

Sara bit her lip, thinking. "Now," she finally said. "If I wait, I might not tell you at all."

Shiori nodded. "Okay, I'm listening."

Sara took a deep breath. "Okay, the truth is, Shuichi isn't human. Neither is Hiei or Yusuke. Well, Yusuke is half-human. Kazuma is human, but he's got special powers. They work for Koenma, Prince of Spirit World. Koenma was the guy with the Jr. tattoo on his forehead. I'm not sure about everything that their job involves, but I know part of it is to track down non-humans that show up here. That's why they found me. You see, I'm half human, half kitsune. Um, at least, that's what Shuichi says. I didn't actually know I wasn't completely human until, well, that walk the other night. That's what upset me so badly. Shuichi told me about all this."

Sara trailed off, and she seemed to be waiting for Shiori's response.

Shiori wasn't sure exactly how to respond. This was preposterous. Insane even. It just couldn't be true. Yet, one look at Sara's face said she believed every word of it.

"If Shuichi isn't human, then what exactly is he?"

"He said he's a full blooded kitsune."

"And how," Shiori asked, her voice tight, "is he not human, when his father and I are?"

Sara shrugged looking miserable. "I don't know. He said his story was complicated, and never told it to me."

Shiori's mind was whirling. This couldn't be true but…it would explain so much. Like why a two year old would prefer the gardening channel to Barney, or how a four year old could use words like superfluous properly, and why he never cried, or any other number of things.

"That's…a lot to take in, Sara."

"I know. I thought he was insane when he first told me. But then he…he showed me some of his power."

"His power?"

Sara nodded. "Yeah. I think he can control plants. He made these flowers grow. They completely covered a whole tree! When I saw that, well, I couldn't exactly not believe him."

Yes, something like that would be good proof. But Sara couldn't show her anything like that could she? And could Shiori really confront Shuichi about something this big? Did she _want_ to confront him?

_Yes. I have to confront him. I promised myself that I would get to know my son. And human or not, Shuichi is _my son._ I will talk to him. I just don't know when._

She also wasn't one hundred percent sure that she believed Sara, but Sara obviously believed what she was saying, and in a way it would just make sense.

"Sara, I don't mean to put you in a tight spot, but could you please not tell Shuichi we had this talk?"

Sara shook her head. "I won't tell him."

Shiori smiled. "Thank you." She turned the car off. "Well, here we are. Let's go on in the mall and see if we can find a dress, hm?"

* * *

Kurama was not sure what bothered him more; the news he had learned from Koenma, or the fact that his mom had a date. He was equally unsure of which fact had finally convinced him to plant Mokie, but here he was, planting him by the foot of the front steps.

"Remember, Mokie, so long as you're here you must act like a normal plant."

Mokie gave a salute. "Yes sir, act like a normal dumb plant, will do sir.

A tulip said something rather rude in response to Mokie's 'normal dumb plant' comment.

"Kurama, the tulips are insulting me again!"

Kurama closed his eyes in search of patience. "Mokie, if anyone finds out you are not a normal plant, I'm feeding you weed killer. That means you must put up with the tulips."

Mokie would have certainly replied if Shiori's car had not pulled into the driveway at that moment. Kurama stood as the two women climbed out of the car, Shiori holding one of those special bags made for dresses and such.

"Hello Shuichi. Planting something new?"

Kurama nodded, not quite able to manage a smile in his present state of mind. "Yes Mother. I see your shopping trip was successful."

Shiori smiled. "It was indeed. I got this dress fifty percent off, and I might even be able to wear it to some work functions. I'd better get it put up though."

Shiori went inside the house, and Kurama frowned after her. He had not gotten to ask all the questions about her date that he had wanted to. His thoughts were interrupted by tug on his sleeve.

Kurama looked down to see Sara shyly holding the cloth in her hand. "Yes Sara?"

"Um, I was wondering if you would mind helping me plant Tulip in your garden."

Tulip? Kurama had to think a moment, but he soon remembered the plant Sara had brought with her from her father's home. Kurama smiled at her.

"Sure Sara. Run up and get the plant."

Sara smiled at him and went inside the house. Seconds of silence went by, and then Mokie had to speak up.

"You like her."

"Not in the manner you're implying."

Mokie gave a little wiggle of excitement. "Oh, yes you do. I saw how you looked at her."

"Be quiet Mokie."

Sara came back out of the house holding the tulip in her hands.

"Let's plant her here, by the rose I just planted," Kurama said, kneeling down in front of Mokie. Sara came and knelt beside him.

"Here, first you need to dig the hole," Kurama said handing her a small spade.

Sara started digging, and soon she had a large enough hole. Kurama helped her ease the plant out of its container without tearing the roots. She placed it in the hole and filled in the edges.

Kurama sat back slightly and smiled. He could feel the tulip's happiness radiating from it. Struck by a sudden thought, he leaned forward and whispered in Sara's ear. "Can you hear her?"

Sara jumped slightly, and looked up at him blushing. "What?"

"The tulip. Can you hear her?"

She seemed to listen a moment, then shook her head no. "I can't."

"Don't listen with your ears," Kurama told her.

Sara looked uncertain, but leaned closer to the plant. To Kurama's eyes, the tulip seemed to suck in a deep breath and said loudly, "Can ya'll hear me now?"

Sara sat back, her eyes wide. "I heard that!"

"Was it clear?" Kurama asked.

Sara shook her head. "No, it was very faint, but I heard her."

Kurama smiled. "Every plant can talk, some better than others. Tulips are very good at it. You'll hear better the more you listen to them."

The tulip's leaves waved, and Sara switched her attention back to it. "Ya kept yer promise."

Sara tilted her head to the side. "My promise?"

"Ya gave me friends. Thank ya."

She looked startled, and then she smiled the sweetest smile Kurama had seen from her yet. "You're welcome."


	19. Chapter 19

Yay! Syco updated! I am sooooo happy! Woot!

* * *

Kurama and Sara stayed outside a little longer, puttering around the grounds. Kurama showed Sara how to care for her newly planted tulip and how best to practice her abilities to hear the plant life in the world. He eventually decided that for now she should just practice with Mokie and her tulip for two very good reasons: one, Mokie was the absolute loudest plant he had ever heard, and he could actually talk aloud to non-kitsunes; two, Sara was most familiar with her tulip and therefore would hear it best out of the masses.

While Sara practiced talking to tulip, Kurama cleared the rest of his garden of weeds. They worked in silence, one that was marred by the tension of what happened at school that day.

* * *

The sun began to sink below the horizon; Kurama stood up and brush some loose dirt off his hands.

"Well, it's starting to get dark so I believe that I will retire to the house now." Kurama informed Sara, _not to mention that I still need to discuss this "date" with Mother._

Sara looked up at him from where she was kneeling at the plants. "Ok." She stood up, brushing off dirt and leaves, and then stopped.

She looked at Kurama's pristine appearance and her…well, less than pristine appearance. "That's just not fair!"

Kurama looked smugly at her, "I can not help it if you wish to play in the dirt like a kit."

Sara shook her head, she could almost understand the situation she was in, but not how someone could spend hours working in a garden and come out completely clean.

"Well, let's go inside." Kurama turned and headed towards the house entrance.

Sara stood outside a moment longer, watching the sky.

The sun was just barely below the horizon, bathing the area around her in an orange haze. The sky was turning black in the east, with the brightest stars in the sky beginning to twinkle there. The western sky was a mosaic of pinks, reds, oranges, and even greens. Sara felt like she was standing in the middle of the universe, with one side awash with bright colors and the other showing the depth and mystery of the dark.

Idly she wondered which side she stood on and which would ultimately triumph. Looking at the sky, she felt that she was on the edge of a cliff, standing on the edge of something…indescribable. _But,_ she wondered, _will I jump or will I fall…_

"Sara!"

Sara jerked out of her strange, dramatic thoughts, turning towards the shout. There was Kurama holding the door open for her.

"Are you coming in, or are you going to contemplate the sky all night long? Dinner is ready."

Sara quickly turned to go inside, "I'm coming, I'm coming."

The door shut gently behind her.

Outside, the sun finished sinking below the horizon and the full wonder and glory of the night sky shone with a fierce cold light.

* * *

Kurama was confused. He thought that Sara would be coming in right behind him. However, that had been a good amount of minutes ago. He decided that he should go check on her.

She was standing, staring at the sky, with an odd look on her face. If Kurama did not know that she did not have access to her inner kitsune abilities yet—including her Seer abilities, he would have sworn that she was in the beginnings of a Vision.

He quickly decided to interrupt her thought process and called for her to come in from the outside.

Once she was in the house, Kurama informed Sara that they would wait on her while she washed up from the garden. It did after all give him a chance to speak more with his mother, other than the few polite words they had spoken earlier.

He waited until Sara was up the stairs. "Mother what is this date you are going on?"

* * *

Shiori turned away from her questioning son. Ever since she had come home the only things she could hear was Sara's voice repeatedly.

"_There is no gang."_

"_Shuichi isn't human."_

"_He's a full blooded kitsune."_

She forced herself to ignore the tumult in her heart and answer her son's—her son's!—questions. She turned back to Shuichi, "Oh it's just a date with Mr. Hatanaka, a friend from work. He's been asking me for a bit now and I have decided that I would finally accept one of his offers." She smiled, making it look natural, not at all as forced as it really was, "It does give me a chance to get out of the house, like you are always encouraging me to do, after all."

Shuichi looked scandalized, "Yes, I encourage you to get out of the house, but I never meant for you to go on a date!" He began pacing, just as Shiori's husband always did while thinking through a problem. Shiori smiled through her suddenly tear-filled eyes, and quickly turned away.

She had to stop looking for proof that Shuichi was her and her husband's child. She would go mad if she went down that road and all the thoughts that would come with it. She had loved Shuichi since the day she learned she was pregnant, and nothing—_nothing_, not even the fact that he might not be human—could take _her child_ away from her. She nodded sharply to herself; there, that was her final decision on the matter.

"Mother?" Shuichi's voice interrupted her inner dialogue. She turned back to her son; he was standing still, watching her with a very confused look on his face. "Is something wrong?"

Shiori shook her head, "It's nothing dear. Would you go run up and see what is taking Sara so long? Dinner will be cold soon."

Shuichi watched her a moment longer, with cold calculating eyes that made her resist a shiver. Watching her son going up the stairs, Shiori thought of all that had happened, and knew that just a few short months ago she never would have seen those eyes. She shook her head sharply again. No, no thoughts like that. They would have a normal dinner, like a normal family. She snorted to herself, well, as normal as they could with all the tension poisoning the air. But she would try; after all, she could be just as good of an actor as her son.

* * *

Mokie waited until he was sure that the people were completely gone.

"Finally!" He turned to the tulip beside him. "So, I'm Mokie and the red head is my kitsune. What's your name?"

The little tulip thought for a moment, "Mah name is Scarlett! 'Cause I'm a scarlet tulip. Mah kitsune is Sara."

Mokie grinned at the tulip, "We are going to become good friends, little miss. Our kitsunes will be spending a lot of time together in the future."

Scarlett nodded, "That's okay with me, as long as yer kitsune don't try nothin' with mah Sara. I will bite him if he goes and hurts her."

The little plant puffed up and bared teeth, which surprised Mokie, because honestly, he had never seen a tulip with teeth. Then he laughed aloud.

This was going to be so much fun.

"Good, good. I would probably bite him as well if he did anything to mess this up!" Mokie wrapped a vine around the little tulip and pulled her closer in with a glint of conspiracy in his voice, "Now, my young apprentice, let me teach you the ways of Mokie."

* * *

Sara and Kurama walked down to the sidewalk in silence after saying good-bye to Shiori. Kurama had spent last night thinking exactly what to tell Sara about what he had learned yesterday, and had finally decided to tell her the bare minimum, but to answer any questions she had honestly.

"Sara?" Kurama opened the conversation. She turned to face him. He noticed that she looked like she had not slept well last night either.

"Yes?"

"Yesterday, while you were shopping with my mother, I found out the information on who is after you."

Sara's face became pinched and closed off.

Kurama continued when she did not reply. "There was a man trapped in a prison of sorts, many years ago. He was put there for crimes against humanity; however every prison must have a key and this was one that is particularly uncommon, supposedly in the hope that it is so evil no one would attempt it." Here Kurama took a deep breathe. "It seems that there must be a type of human sacrifice. We do not know specifics at this time, but it appears that the man has decided that you fit the conditions of the needed sacrifice."

Sara turned back to the road ahead, her mind racing. Someone wanted her…dead? Well, that was nothing new to her. Sara was pretty sure that Harold had wanted her dead for a very long time. But if this man was able to get free from killing her, then he would hurt others, something that Sara disliked with a passion, besides she didn't want to die. Therefore, her best chance of survival was to stay with Kurama until this was dealt with, and then she could disappear and start a new life, far away, where no one would know her.

However, that would mean Mrs. Shiori, whom Sara was really starting to make a connection too; it would also mean leaving her budding crush, which she knew she shouldn't have for Kurama, so maybe leaving was for the best.

But yesterday Kurama had said that he cared for her, as her, not just a mission. But maybe that was forced on him as well?

She could dimly remember from the past weekend talk of a bond put on Kurama by her dead family members. What if his feelings were just something born of the bond? Hadn't he said that it would fade in a few weeks? Would the care he felt towards her fade at the same time?

Kurama saw the worried look on her face, "Do not fret about this though, Sara. We have stopped many others in the past that have wished to conquer the world or other such nonsense. It will be no different this time." _I hope_, he added silently to himself.

Sara nodded her head, but that was all the response that he received from her. Therefore, they both sank into their own thoughts.

Kurama for his part had dozen's of things buzzing through his head. His mother's date, Sara' training, Sara's survival, the tension between his mother and him, Beni bullying Sara, Yoko's unsettling comments about melding, the events of the past week, and even the project that would be due soon that was assigned what felt like so long ago.

_I can not last like this for long_, he thought to himself. _There is simply too much going on; I am going to miss something eventually, and that will spell disaster for me._

**Yeah, just as it did for me, seventeen years ago, **Yoko put in.

_Thanks for that cheering thought,_ Kurama thought sarcastically back.

* * *

Sara was thinking deeply, doing her best to, for a short time, forget what she just learned; instead, she chose to focus on what kept her up into the late hours of the night.

_I told Mrs. Shiori the truth about Sh-Kurama, but I don't know if she believed me._ She snuck a glance at Kurama, and sighed.

_Kurama's not going to be happy I told her, but maybe he will never find out._ Another deep sigh. _That's not going to happen. Nothing in my life ever goes my way. The only thing that happened was Kurama getting me away from Harold, and meeting Mrs. Shiori. That's my quota for good luck for the rest of my life. _

Sara was jostled out of her thought by the sound of many voices. They had made it to the school already. Sara took a deep breath, hearing Kurama do the same thing, as they both prepared themselves for the roles they had to play while at school.

* * *

Caius sat on a park bench, thinking over what he had just learned. Yoko Kurama's human mother was going on a date with a coworker tomorrow. He smiled slightly. Good, that would mean that the kitsune would be distracted during that time, and perhaps then would be an ideal time to put his plans into action…

* * *

We hope you all enjoyed this installment, and wish you all a happy Thanksgiving!


	20. Chapter 20

Yay for Crazy getting done with the chapter this quick! Everyone say "Thank you Crazy!" And don't worry, since Christmas break is coming up, the next chapter will be up soon-- that is, if I survive finals!

Remember we own nothing but our original characters and the plot line! and don't for get to review!

* * *

The school day was a bit of a haze for Sara. In the grand scheme of things, it just suddenly didn't seem all that important.

She tried her best to ignore reality-what a reality!-but it wasn't easy to pretend anymore. Sara was certain everyone could tell something was off with her today.

But then it wasn't everyday that one found out that people were actively trying to murder you in some sort of freakish human sacrifice.

She made it through the day through, and eventually she and Kurama were returning to his home.

They went inside and the silence let them know that Shiori had yet to return from work. Kurama took off his shoes and went deeper into the house while Sara moved at a much slower pace. As she slid the shoes from her feet, Sara's gaze landed on the table with the potted plant. There was money on it.

Sara stared at it. Logically, she should take it. She had taken less than a total of five dollars. If she were going to run, she'd need more than that.

Sara didn't like stealing from Mrs. Shiori and Kurama. They were good people, and they'd given her so much already. It wasn't right to steal from them.

But wasn't it right to do whatever it took to survive?

A soft noise caught Sara's attention. At some point, Kurama had returned and he was watching her intently. Embarrassment filled her. Did he know what she'd been thinking about doing?

Kurama looked between Sara and the table, and then back at Sara. Sara flushed with shame. He knew. There was no doubt.

Fear gripped her. Would Kurama be angry with her? Would he hurt her?

Kurama didn't look mad. He looked very calm. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, watching her. "Take it," he said.

"What?" Sara asked, confused.

Kurama nodded towards the money on the table. "The money. Go ahead and take it."

Sara stared at him, speechless. What was this, some kind of trick? Mutely, she shook her head no.

"Why not? You took money before."

He had known? Tears pooled in her eyes, and she burned with humiliation. There was nothing she could say in her defense.

Kurama's face softened at her silent but obvious distress. He walked forward and pulled her into a hug. Sara buried her face in his chest and clung to him. She didn't know why he wasn't angry with her, but if hugging would keep him from getting angry, she was more than willing to do it.

"Why were you stealing from us, Sara?" he asked softly.

Sara trembled. She didn't want to tell him she'd been planning to leave once it was safe to do so.

Sara jumped when she felt his warm breath on her ear.

"I want to understand, Sara," he whispered. "I can't understand if you won't talk to me."

Guilt and shame about stealing flew away as Sara became aware of the rather intimate position they were in. The memory of his lips pressing against hers bubbled up in her mind.

Sara pressed her face deeper into his chest. She was torn between wanting to get away from him and wanting to stay like this forever. Whatever she did, she knew she couldn't look him in the face.

One of his hands started running through her hair. "Sara?"

He was trying to drive her mad! She'd tell him anything if he'd just leave her alone.

"I was going to leave," she said into his shirt.

He seemed to understand her for she could feel him straighten. Disentangling his hand from her hair, Kurama gently caught a hold of her chin and forced her to look at him.

"Do you dislike Mother and me?" he asked seriously.

Sara quickly shook her head no. How could anyone dislike them?

"Then why leave?" Kurama asked.

Why indeed. She had wanted to find people who would care for her because of her, but didn't Mrs. Shiori fit that bill? No one could do for someone what Mrs. Shiori had done for her without caring.

The one she wasn't sure about—the one that was most important—was Kurama. He had said he cared, but was it the bond that made him care? Sara couldn't bear the thought that he might one day quit caring for her.

"Is it the bond that makes you care about me?" she blurted out.

Kurama looked surprised at her question, and then sad. "Do you really think yourself so unlovable?" he asked.

Sara didn't reply, but waited for his answer.

"All the bond does is let me know when you're in danger," Kurama told her. "The feelings I have for you are all my own."

Sara's breath caught. The way he said that…Did he _like-like_ her? It seemed impossible, and yet…Memories of his kiss returned unbidden. Warmth spread through her.

"I'll stay," she said shyly.

* * *

_I really am a cold-hearted jerk,_ Kurama thought as he went to bed later that night.

He had known very well how Sara would interpret his words and actions; that she would come to believe he held romantic feelings for her. Nevertheless, he had had to do something to make sure she would stay.

_**You do realize that now that you've done this you're going to have to stick with it,**_Yoko said. _**It would completely crush her spirit if she knew the truth.**_

Yoko was correct on that score. Sara could not find out about this. He would have to keep up the charade he had started, at least until she was stronger of spirit.

_Not that it is a complete charade,_ Kurama thought. _I do care about her. Just not like that._

_**Personally, I bed to differ. I think you do like her. And who knows? Maybe if you hang around her enough, you might realize it.**_

_**

* * *

  
**_

Caius watched from the rooftop of the house across the street as Yoko Kurama and Sara left for school Friday morning. A few minutes later, Shiori left as well, heading to work.

"So, Caius," Jezebel said from behind him. "Are you going to tell us what your plan is?"

Caius nodded. "Yes, I suppose I should." He turned to face them. "Tonight Yoko Kurama's mother is going on a date. After she's left for it, I'm going to call Yoko and tell him that I've kidnapped his mother, and unless he brings me Sara, I'll kill her.

"Now, Yoko Kurama will not really risk Sara's life, and the world's safety, for this. He will leave her at home, where he will think she'll be safe. Once he has left, you two will capture the girl. His garden will give you some trouble, but I think you should be able to handle it. Still, you must move quickly. As soon as Yoko Kurama realizes that I don't have his mother, he's going to come back here, and fast."

"You're not really going to kidnap his mother?" Kamiso asked.

"Why would I kidnap someone I was willing to return?" Caius asked. "It seems pointless to me."

"Or do you think Yoko would be too strong for you if his dear mommy was really on the line?" Jezebel taunted.

Caius chuckled, and then his hand shot out and wrapped around Jezebel's throat. "I'm getting tired of your insults, Jezebel," Caius told her pleasantly. "Keep them up and I might rethink my decision not to eat you."

He let her go and walked to the edge of the roof. "I shall see you tonight."

Caius hopped off the building to leave the two on their own for the day. He had some business to take care of. Since he wasn't going to have Shiori with him, he'd need to get something else to convince Yoko Kurama that she was there.

He finally made it to the building where Shiori worked. Standing in the shadows, Caius began to hum.

There were many people who assumed that Caius's only power was his ability to absorb a person's energy by touch. Most of those people were dead.

Caius had another power, one he called the Wishsong. He wished for something, he sang for something, and it happened. Granted, there were some limitations, but there were a great many things he could do. Like turn invisible, for example. Though it didn't make him invisible, so much as it just convinced everyone that he wasn't there.

Caius walked in the building, completely unnoticed, humming softly. After a bit of searching, Caius found Shiori's office. Lucky for him, the door was wide open, so he just walked right in.

Shiori was inside talking to a coworker. He'd have to wait for them to leave.

To his surprise, Shiori turned to face him but a frown of confusion flickered across her face.

"What is it?" the other woman asked.

"I could have sworn that I just saw someone walk in here," Shiori said.

Caius was impressed. Usually the only humans that might see through his Wishsong would be those who could use spirit energy, but Shiori was just a normal human.

_A good thing she can't use spirit energy, or she would be a formidable foe,_ Caius thought.

"There's no one there, Shiori," her coworker said. "Come on; let's go get a coffee from the break room. I don't think you're awake quite yet."

Shiori smiled ruefully. "I suppose you're right."

When the two women were gone, a quick search turned up Shiori's cell phone. Caius slipped it in his pocket. Now he just had to hope that Shiori wouldn't mention the missing phone to Yoko Kurama.

* * *

That afternoon Kurama was in the living room with Sara, putting together a poster for that big project. As Kurama was a kitsune—a fact that he did not have to hide from Sara anymore—and thus knew all there was to know about foxes, he had decided they could skip the research part of their project.

He paused when he heard Shiori coming down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, Kurama had to admit that she was beautiful. Her new dress was simple but elegant and Shiori had curled her long black hair and was letting it hang about her shoulders. She did not look like a single mom nearing her forties.

"How do I look?" Shiori asked

"Oh, Mrs. M, you're beautiful!" Sara exclaimed.

Kurama chose not to reply. He still was not happy about this date.

The doorbell rang. Shiori answered it, and Kurama followed to see whom exactly his mother would be going out with.

Kurama was not impressed. Mr. Hatanaka looked quite dull, and completely average to Kurama. Such a man was not worthy of Shiori.

"I'll see you two later," Shiori said before leaving.

Kurama continued to glare at the door even after they were gone.

"Um, Kurama?"

Kurama glanced at Sara. It was strange hearing his real name come from her. Strange, but right somehow.

"Maybe we should keep working on the project?" she suggested.

Kurama forced a smile. "Yes, I suppose you are right."

It was about two hours later that the phone rang.

Kurama answered it. "Minamino residence."

"Hello, Yoko Kurama."

Kurama stiffened. "Who is this?"

"My name is Caius. I doubt you've heard of me, but perhaps you've heard of my master, Jack?"

"The name is familiar. What do you want?"

"I want you to bring Sara to the abandoned soda warehouse in twenty minutes."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then your mother's visit with me will have to be cut frightfully short," Caius said, sounding truly apologetic. "But I promise not to leave any marks on her so you can have an open casket funeral.

For a moment, Kurama quit breathing. No. This could not be. He had worked so hard to keep his mother safe and now to learn she had fallen into some psychopath's hands…

"If you hurt her in any way, I will make you beg me for death," Kurama growled.

"The clock is ticking, Yoko Kurama," Caius said sounding amused. Then he hung up the phone.

Kurama glared at the receiver. This man was going to die. However, maybe he was bluffing. Maybe he did not really have Shiori.

Kurama dialed the number to Shiori's cell phone. It was answered on the first ring. "Shiori is a bit tied up at the moment," Caius's mocking voice answered. "Can I take a message?"

Kurama slammed the phone down hard enough that it shattered beneath his hand.

"Kurama?"

Kurama looked at Sara. It was easy to see she was terrified, but he was in no mood to comfort her.

"Stay here," Kurama snapped before leaving the house.

He was not stupid enough to actually take Sara with him. She was too important for the world's safety to risk, even for Shiori. Kurama did not plan on bargaining anyways.

* * *

Sara was scared. What had happened? She hadn't been able to hear what was said to Kurama, but from his reaction, Sara was afraid something had happened to Shiori.

A sudden blast destroyed the front door and knocked Sara off her feet.

"Anyone home?"

Sara looked up and saw with horror that Kamiso was coming towards her.

"You're coming with me girl," he said.

Mokie began to rapidly grown until he was almost as big as the house, his vines as thick as light poles, his thorns and teeth like swords.

"You'll have to get past me first," Mokie snarled.

Sara scrambled to her feet and ran. She didn't know if Mokie would be able to stop Kamiso, but if he couldn't, she'd have to hide.

Sara ran out the back door, and into Jezebel's waiting arms. "Got you," she breathed.

Jezebel jumped to the roof of the house while Sara struggled.

"Mokie!" she screamed.

Jezebel jumped to the roof of the neighbor's house, narrowly dodging one of Mokie's vines. Jezebel didn't stop, and Mokie couldn't chase her. The realization hit Sara hard.

She was going to die.

* * *

Kurama trembled with rage as he clutched Shiori's cell phone in his hand. It was the only thing he had found upon entering the warehouse.

Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Caius had laid a trap, and Kurama had walked right into it.

Kurama threw the cell phone and started back to his house as fast as his feet could carry him. He just hoped he was not too late.

* * *

Jezebel had taken Sara far away, or at least, it seemed so to Sara. They wound up in a dense forest. Jezebel dropped Sara to her feet but kept a hold of her arm.

"You'd better not try to run girl, or it'll go worse for you," Jezebel warned.

_Worse? How could things get worse? You're going to kill me._

Jezebel dragged her to a gnarled oak tree. She rapped the trunk, which began to low and change until it was a swirling portal.

Jezebel dragged Sara inside. The place they arrived in was a castle, reminiscent of what might be seen in a horror movie. All manner of strange and horrifying creatures could be seen.

Jezebel impatiently pulled Sara through the halls, eventually leading to a large set of double doors. Jezebel pushed them open and yanked Sara inside.

Sara was immediately hit by an oppressive wave of evil that knocked her to her knees.

"Welcome, Jezebel. Where are Kamiso ad Caius?"

"Kamiso was eaten by one of Yoko Kurama's plants. I don't know where Caius is, but I expect that he'll turn up soon, Jack."

"So, this is the half breed we've been searching for."

Sara forced herself to look up at Jack. He wasn't the horrific monster she'd expected to see. He was of average height and build, with short, curly black hair. All in all, he didn't have a frightening or even memorable appearance, except for his eyes, if they could even be called that. They were black pits that seemed to look through her very soul. Sara got the feeling that if she looked Jack in the eye long enough, she'd go insane.

Jack crouched down in front of her so they were eye to eye. Every instinct screamed for Sara to run, but fear rooted her to the spot. He reached out and gently trailed his fingers across her cheek. Sara gave a strangled whimper.

Jack seemed amused by Sara's fear. "A pity I must kill you tomorrow night. I could have fun with you for years. You'd be so easy to torture." He chuckled. "Of course, teenagers usually are."

His hand moved from her face to settle around her neck. He didn't squeeze or anything, but Sara still felt like she was being suffocated. "Still, the full moon isn't until tomorrow night. There is much I could do between now and then."

"That would probably be a bad idea," Jezebel said. "She's so weak it would likely kill her before it was time."

Sara glanced up at Jezebel and realized that the woman did not speak up out of kindness, but out of jealousy. She didn't want Jack's attentions taken up by Sara. How anyone could want his attention, Sara didn't know.

"Possibly," Jack conceded. He sighed in disappointment. "I suppose I'll have to wait until I get out and then find another girl like her. Timid, fragile girls are my favorite."

Sara saw Jezebel flinch at the open dig. Jack stood, looking smug. He knew how his words upset her.

"Lock her up for now. When Caius returns he can break the seal on her powers."

Jezebel pulled Sara to her feet. "You can't break the seal yourself?" Jezebel asked innocently.

Sara recognized the thinly veiled insult for what it was, but didn't think the small revenge was worth risking Jack's anger.

Jack moved towards Jezebel, smiling tightly. He placed a hand on the back of her neck and dragged her forward. Sara was yanked forward too due to Jezebel's death grip on her arm.

"I could break the world apart if I wanted to. I could break the seal easily if I so wished. However, my power is so corrupted and poisonous that if I did break the seal she would be dead before sunrise. That's why I prefer to use others to do my bidding."

He shoved her away. "Now go and do as I said."

* * *

Shiori's evening had been both enjoyable and disappointing. She'd had fun, but had felt no spark of romance. She would only ever be able to see Mr. Hatanaka as a friend.

He opened the car door for her and she slipped inside Shiori buckled up and then closed he eyes. She was tired and ready to go home.

She heard Mr. Hatanaka get in the car and turn it on. They started driving and he asked, "Did you have a nice time, Shiori?"

Shiori's eyes flew open. That wasn't Mr. Hatanaka's voice. Nor, she saw, was it Mr. Hatanaka sitting by her.

He was tall; she could tell that even when he was sitting down. He was wearing a pair of black slacks and a blue button up dress shirt with a tie that pulled just enough to show he was very much in shape. His long black hair was pulled back in a braid, and his blue eyes were focused on the road. If Shiori had to guess his age, she'd place him from his late thirties to early forties. The most disturbing part of his appearance, other than the fact that he was _there_, was his pointed ears and the wicked looking claws that adorned his fingertips.

When Shiori found her voice, she asked, "What did you do to Mr. Hatanaka?"

"You needn't worry about him," the man said with a smile that revealed vampire like fangs. He is only unconscious. I'm sure someone will find him in the parking lot soon enough."

Shiori was relieved that Mr. Hatanaka at least was okay. "Who are you?" she asked. _What are you?_ her mind whispered, but she dared not voice that question aloud.

"How rude of me," the man said. "My name is Caius."

It was somewhat creepy how polite he was being while kidnapping her. "Why are you kidnapping me?" she asked. As long as Caius felt like answering questions, she might as well keep asking them.

"Several reasons," Caius told her. "One is because I've been ordered to kill your son, and it will be easier to do so if he believes you are in danger."

Horror filled Shiori, swiftly followed by anger. How dare he? How dare this man try to use her to hurt-no, kill-Shuichi! She wouldn't let him do this!

Shiori glanced around. They were going very fast and about to cross a bridge. If she yanked the wheel hard enough, they would fall into the river blow. Granted, this would probably kill Shiori and Caius both, but if it helped keep Shuichi safe, Shiori didn't care.

They got to the bridge and Shiori lunged, yanking the wheel with all her might. It didn't budge.

"That would have been a good idea, Shiori, if I were human," Caius said. "Now please, sit down."

Shiori was shaken. He hadn't had any trouble at all keeping the wheel straight. Desperate, Shiori tried to hit Caius, but he caught her hand.

Never losing that irritating smile, Caius pulled the car to a stop on the side of the road. Before Shiori could even think about jumping out of the car, Caius had her pinned. He was straddling her lap and had both of her hands caught in one of his. Shiori had never seen him move. He was just suddenly there.

With his free hand, he removed his tie. "I'm sorry to do this," he said, "but I need you to behave."

He used the tie to tie her wrists together, and then moved back to his seat to continue driving.

Shiori struggled against her bonds, but soon realized that it was useless. She was trapped.

"We're here," Caius said.

Shiori looked around. All she could see was a forest and deserted road.

Caius opened her door and leaned over to unbuckle her seatbelt. When he did, Shiori noticed that his fangs had grown so that they now poked over the edge of his bottom lip. He noticed the direction of her gaze and smirked. "Sorry about the fangs," he said, not sounding at all apologetic. "They tend to grow when I'm hungry."

He had to help Shiori out of the car as her hands were still tied. Against her better judgment, Shiori found herself asking, "What do you eat?"

Caius's smirk took a dangerous turn as he shut the car door. He pressed her back against the car, and pinned her tied hands between her chest and his. She tried to push him away, but it was like trying to push a mountain.

Caius caught her face in his hands and forced her to look up at him. His smirk had widened to a grin. "What do I eat? Why, my dear, I eat people."

With that, he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Shiori would have thought that his fangs would pose a problem for kissing, but Caius must have been used to dealing with them, or Shiori couldn't remember the last time she'd been so thoroughly kissed.

Shiori tried to struggle, but it proved no use against Caius's strength. She could feel herself growing weaker, and darkness edged in her vision.

_No, I can't let this happen,_ she thought desperately. _I must stay awake, I must._

A sudden pain, as though she'd been stabbed by a thousand needles washed over her. She could feel herself slipping away.

_No! I must…hold on…Shuichi…_


	21. Chapter 21

Kurama stared at the gaping hole that now existed in the front of his house. A crowd had gathered at the front of the house, making it difficult for Kurama to get to the house. Kurama decided it would be best, and easiest, to go around to the back of the house in order to avoid the barrage of questions he was likely to get from his inquisitive neighbors.

He slipped to the back and noticed the scent of Jezebel and Sara; he ventured further in to speak to Mokie. Kurama ducked down and crawled towards the front of the house, hiding behind furniture and debris so that he wouldn't be seen through the hole.

_Mokie,_ Kurama called with his mental link to Mokie. _What happened?_

_**I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry,**_ _**I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry; they came and I ate—she took and I couldn't stop, and I'm sorry!!!!**_

Kurama interpreted Mokie's rambling in his mind; Jezebel and Kamiso had come and Mokie had managed to eat Kamiso, but Jezebel had captured Sara. This meant she probably has taken Sara to Jack; Hiei knew where Jack was, so he needed to find Hiei, and get back-up in the form of Yusuke and Kuwabara. But what had happened to Shiori?

_Have you seen Mother? _he asked Mokie.

_**Mother? What happened to her?!**_

_I don't know. That's what I'm trying to find out._

Mokie sputtered incoherently. Kurama ignored the ranting in favor of thinking of his next step. He would get Hiei first; it would be easier to find Hiei alone than with Yusuke and Kuwabara trailing after him. Hiei usually stayed in a park on the outskirts of the city, therefore Kurama would check there first.

Kurama quickly ran to the park and as he expected, Hiei quickly found him.

"What's going on, fox?" Hiei demanded.

Kurama quickly explained the situation to Hiei, who was immediately ready to storm the lair of Jack.

"No, first we will need to find Yusuke and Kuwabara to help us. I know that Jack will have at least two other minions and possibly more. He will also have Sara, and maybe Mother."

Hiei raised an eyebrow at that last bit of information, but he didn't ask questions. Together they raced to Yusuke's house.

Kurama knocked on the door, but didn't wait for Yusuke to answer; he just opened the door and walked in, nearly trampling Yusuke who had been hit by the door.

"What's the rush?" Yusuke asked irritably.

"Sara's been kidnapped. And so has Mother, maybe."

Yusuke could only stare in shock as he absorbed this information; however, the group at Yusuke's bedroom's door was not nearly so silent.

"What?!" Botan screeched. "How could this have happened?"

Kurama shook his head, not really having an answer.

"Get Kuwabara and go," Koenma ordered. "I'm going back to Spirit World. I don't think that Jack's been freed yet, but if he is, I'll need to be in Spirit World so I can find the Guardian. She's the only one who can stop him. Botan, you had better come with me."

"But," Botan started to protest, however Kurama cut her off.

"Koenma is right Botan. You will only get in the way if you come with us."

Botan looked hurt by Kurama's words, but Kurama was past caring about people's feelings at this point. "Yusuke, Hiei, let's go."

Kurama turned and left, with Hiei silently following; leaving Yusuke with no choice but to follow them.

After they left, Botan turned to Koenma "Koenma, was it my imagination or was Kurama's eyes… slightly...goldish?"

Koenma didn't answer, but just stared out the still open door.

* * *

Sara's head jerked up when the door to the small cell she was in opened. There was a man in the doorway that she hadn't seen before. He walked in and knelt before her.

"Hello, there," he said with a gentle smile. "My name is Caius."

Sara watched him uneasily. She didn't trust this man. "What do you want?"

"Your mother placed a seal on you when you were a baby, locking away your kitsune half. I'm here to break that seal. Now, it is going to be broken, whether you are willing or not, but it will be far less painful if you don't try to fight me."

Sara was frightened by his words. What was going to happen when he broke this seal? "Please don't," she whispered in despair.

"I'm sorry child."

Sara looked up in sudden hope, only to see no sign of pity, or even regret in Caius's face.

The man started to hum gently, and Sara could feel herself fall into a pit of darkness that swallowed her whole no matter how hard she fought.

Even in this pit, she could still hear Caius, though she could see nothing. His voice rose from a hum to singing. Sara couldn't understand the words; she wasn't even sure they were words. It was like he was singing music; his voice was the whisper of thoughts, the sound of instruments being masterfully played. It was beautiful; it was terrifying.

Pain shot through her, distracting her from the sound of his voice. Sara had felt pain before, but not like this. It was as if Caius was tearing her very soul in two.

Suddenly, her mind's eye was flooded with light. A figure appeared, little more than a silhouette at first. Slowly, it solidified, forming the figure of a girl. The girl had long brown hair, but the bangs were green. She had pointed elf like ears, and a long fluffy brown fox tail. It took Sara a minute to realize that this strange looking girl was her.

The girl's eyes, Sara couldn't think of her as herself, glowed green with a strange inner light. Suddenly she leapt towards Sara, who was unable to move out of the way. They crashed together with a sudden spike of pain, and then it was over.

Sara slowly came back to her senses. She was shivering, and her whole body throbbed in pain. Caius was cradling her in his arms; he had stopped singing, when, Sara wasn't sure.

"Good, it worked," Caius said. "Now everything is ready for tomorrow night." He set Sara gently down on the floor. As he stood, he gave Sara an affectionate pat on the head. "Enjoy your last night of life," he said and then left the room.

Tears slid down Sara's face. Was there no hope for her at all? Sara looked down, and was startled to notice some big changes in herself. She had become the girl she'd seen when Caius had been singing.

* * *

Kuwabara was half asleep when the group showed up at his house, but he quickly woke up at the list of things that had gone wrong in short order.

"Let me get this straight; Sara's been kidnapped and is most likely with Jack, and Mrs. M has been kidnapped too?"

Kurama's answer was a quick and tense, almost growled, yes.

Kuwabara stood up quickly, "Then what are we waiting around here for? Let's go kick some bad guys' butts!"

Kurama was out the door before Kuwabara could finish his sentence.

Hiei took the lead then, to lead the detectives to the portal he had found the other day. The portal was in the form of a creepy looking tree. Hiei knocked on the trunk and the tree twisted open to reveal a hallway made of stone.

"Cause that's not creepy at all," Yusuke muttered.

The four went inside and were immediately surrounded by a group of low level yokai. "Get them," one of the creatures hissed.

Kuwabara summoned his sword and sliced a yokai in half that had been jumping for his throat.

"Spirit Gun!" Yusuke shouted, blasting away most of the yokai.

Kurama's rose whip sliced through the air, and finished off the few remaining. Kuwabara and Hiei had hardly needed to do anything.

"So, how are we supposed to find Sara?" Kuwabara asked.

Hiei's Jagan eye glowed under his headband. "Follow me," he said, taking the lead.

They traveled down hallways, having to frequently stop to fend off more of the low level yokai that seemed to swarm this place.

"This is really getting annoying," Yusuke complained as they finished the latest batch of yokai. "Are we close to her yet?"

"We're close," Hiei confirmed.

Kuwabara's eyes were drawn to an open door a little ways ahead of them. It was strange that the door was open. Every other door he'd seen had been closed. Kuwabara concentrated on that room for a moment, and then stopped dead in his tracks.

The others stopped just ahead of him. "What is it now, Kuwabara?" Yusuke snapped.

"Mrs. M is in that room," Kuwabara said, pointing to the open door.

"What are we waiting for then?" Yusuke asked, cracking his knuckles. "Let's go get her."

"No," Kurama said. Kuwabara looked at him in surprise, and noticed for the first time the sheen of gold behind his eyes. "You three will continue on to Sara. I will take care of this."

"Be careful," Kuwabara cautioned him. The scathing look Kurama gave him sent Kuwabara on his way without another word.

* * *

Shiori had woken up in complete darkness. For a moment she'd thought she had gone blind, but the reassuring light from under the door had set that fear to rest.

Feeling her way around, Shiori had been able to determine that she was in a tiny room, most probably a closet. Having found that the door was locked, she had tried to break it open, but had only succeeded in bruising her shoulder. Then she had focused her attentions on trying to pick the lock with her hairpin, but that hadn't been any more effective.

Now she was sitting against the wall, wondering when someone would come for her.

_I almost hope that Caius is the one that opens that door. Now that I'm not tied up, I'd definitely teach him a thing or two about manners._

Just thinking about how he had kissed her made Shiori angry. It also confused her. What had he done to her when he'd kissed her? Shiori didn't know, but was certain he'd done something. After all, kisses didn't normally make one tired, or cause pain.

_He said he ate people right before he kissed me. Did he 'eat' my energy or something?_

It was a strange answer, but the only one she could come up with in this nightmarish situation. The sound of voices from beyond the door distracted Shiori from her thoughts.

"Welcome, Yoko. I've been expecting you," said Caius's unforgettable and infuriatingly polite voice.

"Where is she?"

Shiori almost didn't recognize Shuichi's voice, so hard and dangerous did it sound. _Caius calls him Yoko and Yusuke calls him Kurama. How many names does Shuichi have?_

"You are impatient when you're upset, aren't you?" Caius said with a sigh. "Well, I suppose we won't get anywhere until you've seen her."

The door opened, momentarily blinding Shiori. As her eyes adjusted, Shiori stood to her feet. There, there was Shuichi, not twenty feet away from her. Shiori stared towards him, but her way was blocked by Caius's arm.

"No, Shiori, you need to stay right where you are," Caius said. "Things are about to get very dangerous in here."

"Let her leave," Shuichi said.

Caius shook his head. "Now why would I do that? Especially after I went through all the trouble of kidnapping her in the first place." Caius paused for a moment. "Besides, I feel Shiori deserves to know the truth about you. She is after all your mother."

Shuichi's eyes hardened dangerously, and Shiori tried to convince herself she couldn't see gold shimmering behind the green. "I will make you regret this," he growled.

"Possibly," Caius agreed, "but not while Shiori is right here. You can't attack me without taking the risk that I will move her in the way."

Shuichi didn't answer.

Caius smiled and looked down at Shiori. "I suppose you should know that his real name is Yoko Kurama, not Shuichi Minamino. He is a kitsune that is over ten thousand years old. Before he was born as your son, he was a thief and a murderer. He was almost killed by a bounty hunter, and to prevent his death, he placed his spirit inside that of your unborn son." Caius tipped his head to the side. "Some might say that Yoko murdered your child."

The room spun as the blood drained from Shiori's head. No. NO! That couldn't be right. He had to be lying. He had to be! Shuichi hadn't killed her son; he was her son.

Sara's words echoed in her mind. _"He said his story was complicated, and he never told it to me."_ She remembered Yusuke's confession that Shuichi had killed people before. Their words came back, mocking her, taunting her.

_No. Say he's lying Shuichi. Please._

"You're twisting the truth," Shuichi snapped.

Shiori felt her heart clench. Twisting. Not lying, but twisting.

"Yoko and I are two separate people. He didn't kill me when he joined me," Shuichi said.

"You would call yourself Shuichi, then?" Caius asked lightly.

Shuichi didn't say anything.

"That's what I thought," Caius said with a smug smile.

He looked back at Shiori. "Perhaps you would like to see him for what he really is?"

Caius didn't wait for an answer, but turned back to Shuichi…Kurama…whatever Shiori was supposed to call him now. Apparently, Kurama understood what he was planning to do, for he took two quick steps forward, but froze when Caius began to sing.

It was the strangest sound Shiori had ever heard. She had to call it a sound, because she had no other word for it. It was though he was singing and playing the music, with only his mouth.

Kurama grimaced in pain, and fell to his knees.

"Shuichi!" Shiori cried. Even though she was thinking of him as Kurama, she couldn't bring herself to call him that.

Caius pushed her back out of the way, and she watched with mounting fear as a white mist that came seemingly from nowhere surrounded Kurama. There was a strange crackle of energy, and Caius fell silent.

Shiori saw Kurama's silhouette stand up in the mist, and then blinked in surprise, trying to change the image that stood before her. Kurama wasn't that tall.

The mist cleared, and it was a stranger that stood before her. His hair was long, straight and silver, and he had silver fox ears, and a silver fox tail. His eyes…his eyes were golden. They reminded her of her nightmare, and she had to force thoughts of that from her mind.

"You will regret brining me to the surface," Kurama said. Or was it Kurama? Shiori wasn't even sure anymore.

"Perhaps I will, Yoko," Caius said. "But I rather think I won't."

Yoko. So this wasn't Shuichi, or Kurama, at all, this was the kitsune that had taken refuge inside her son's body.

_If he hadn't done that…If Yoko had never come…then we wouldn't have to deal with this now._

Shiori felt resentment towards Yoko. How many times had he put her son in danger? How many times had he forced Shuichi, Kurama, to harm someone? She could lay all of the blame of these problems at Yoko's feet.

Or could she? Had Yoko forced Kurama to do anything? Or had Kurama done it all of his own will? Shiori didn't know enough about the situation to go assigning blame.

Caius gently pushed Shiori back. "Come on Yoko; I'll give you a chance to get what you want."

Caius took several steps away from Shiori, and Yoko's golden eyes followed him. "You'd like to kill me, wouldn't you?" Caius asked. "Go on and try."

Shiori saw Yoko tense, and screamed, "Don't let him touch you!" She didn't know if Caius could only drain energy by kissing, or if he could do it with a simple touch, but she had to give Yoko a warning of some kind.

No sooner did she finish speaking than Yoko disappeared, as well as Caius. Shiori could hear them, so she knew they were still in the room but they were moving far too fast for her to see.

_What's going on, what's going on?_

Finally, they separated on opposite ends of the room, Yoko to Shiori's right, and Caius to her left. Neither one looked harmed.

Shiori felt surprised. All those dramatics and the result was nothing? _This could take a while._

Apparently Yoko had had the same thought, for out of nowhere a long, thorny whip appeared in his hand.

_Where did he get that?_

They moved, and once more Shiori couldn't see either of them, which frustrated her to no end. She could somewhat track their positions though, based on the gouges that now appeared in the walls.

Pain shot through her left arm, feeling as though it had been torn open. She fell to the ground with a cry of pain, clutching her arm. Looking at it, she was shocked to see that there was nothing with her arm at all.

Arms wrapped around her, and Shiori looked up to see that Yoko was cradling her close. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"My arm," she whimpered, not able to say more past the pain.

Yoko's eyes examined her arm for a brief second before looking up to glare at Caius. Shiori looked at Caius too and saw him leaning against the far wall, a long gash in his left arm. He smiled at them, though his smile was obviously forced.

"Did I forget to mention that I bonded myself to her?" Caius asked. "As you can see, whatever pain I feel, so will she. And it goes one step further. If I die, then she will die as well."

Shiori could feel Yoko's body tense as Caius spoke. What could he do now? How could he rescue Shiori if he couldn't fight Caius?

The pain in Shiori's arm started to fade, and Shiori looked over at Caius in some surprise. The more the pain in her arm disappeared, the more blood began to run down his arm. Shiori tried to understand the implications of this observation.

_So the more pain I feel, the less that Caius has to deal with. And if I don't feel any pain, his wounds are worse, and he can choose how much pain I feel._

But if that was the case, why wasn't Caius making her feel all the pain? Why was he taking it back when he could avoid it by making her suffer?

_Does he…not want me to suffer?_

She would have been certain before that he would enjoy anyone's pain or discomfort, but now…

Yoko gently set her to the side and stood. "You will release her."

Caius shook his head. "I couldn't even if I wanted to. You obviously know little about my race if you would even suggest such a thing."

"Then explain," Shiori ordered. "What is this bond, exactly, and why can't you remove it?"

Caius looked at her, and to Shiori's great surprise, he nodded in obedience. "Very well. My race survives by absorbing the energy of living creatures; animal, yokai, human, it matters little what. We could even absorb the energy of plants in an emergency.

"However, for each of us there is always certain, shall we say flavors, of energy that pulls at us the most. Generally, whomever we drain will die, no matter what. However, if we drain the person with the right flavor of energy, they will not die, and they will become bonded with the one that drained them."

He paused for a moment, and then continued. "Shiori, now that you and I are bonded, only your energy will satisfy me. Even if I drained others, if I don't feed from you, I will eventually die. And of course, if I die then so will you."

Shiori frowned. "Are you telling me the truth?"

Caius smiled. "That's another little detail about the bond. I cannot lie to you now."

Strangely, Shiori believed him. "How many little details are there that you haven't mentioned yet?" she asked, getting to her feet.

Caius shrugged, and then winced at the movement of his arm. "Several. Another would be that you can heal me, if you let me absorb your energy."

Shiori hesitated. This was obviously Caius way of asking for her help, but why should she give it to him? He had kidnapped her, bonded her without her knowledge, and tried to kill her son.

_But he's suffering,_ some part of her whispered. _Can you watch someone suffer when you know you could heal them?_

No, Shiori couldn't. Perhaps she was too compassionate, but she couldn't watch anyone suffer if there was something she could do about it.

She started forward, but Yoko grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Do not. His wound isn't deadly, and if he is healed, he may attack again."

Shiori was surprised, and upset. Yoko would just let him suffer? "And what would that gain him?" Shiori asked. "He needs me."

"That doesn't mean he isn't dangerous," Yoko said.

Caius chuckled. "You don't have to worry about me attacking you Yoko. Despite Jack's orders, I never intended to kill you."

Yoko's eyes narrowed. "Then why fight me at all?"

"Curiosity. However, this conversation is better saved for another time. The more we wait, the more danger Sara and your other friends are in."

"Sara's here?" Shiori asked in alarm.

Caius nodded. "Yes. If you'll heal me I'll take you to her."

Shiori pulled her arm out of Yoko's grip and walked towards Caius. When she got near him, he reached out with his right hand and touched her face. A tingling sensation swept through her, and the wound on Caius's arm closed.

Caius smiled at them both. "Let's go get Sara, shall we?"

* * *

The three detectives continued running down the halls of the building. Kuwabara felt a moment of worry for Kurama, facing some bad guy all by himself, but the worry only lasted a moment.

Rounding a corner, the remaining gang members came to a door at the end of the hallway.

"That's where we will find the hanyou." Hiei said.

Yusuke and Kuwabara turned to him. "So all we have to do is beat up the people here right?" Yusuke said, cracking his knuckles.

For in front of the door was the woman, Jezebel, from the forest. With her was some kind of snake people. They had the bodies of snakes, but they had arms and the faces of people. All in all, they were big, mean looking creatures and there were five of them.

"Ok, Hiei, me and you will take the lady. Kuwabara, you take the …snake people." Yusuke ordered.

"Nagas," Hiei said, "They are called Nagas."

Just then there was a surge of power from somewhere in the building. With a shock, Kuwabara sensed that it was Kurama's energy.

"What-" Kuwabara started to ask, but was interrupted by Yusuke.

"Kurama's got that guy taken care of!"

Hiei looked troubled, "Yoko is here."

"Whatever, enough talking! Ok, Kuwabara, you take the Nagas. Let's go!" Yusuke surged ahead, charging his spirit gun.

Hiei quickly followed his sword at ready.

Kuwabara summoned his own sword and followed his friends into battle.

Cold hard laughter soon stopped them in their tracks. Jezebel stood tall, eyes lit with a slightly insane look. "You shall not pass! The seal has already been undone. Everything is going according to the Master's plan."

Yusuke opened his mouth to respond, when he was pushed aside by a black blur.

"There is no need for talking snake!" Hiei snarled as he attacked.

Yusuke and Kuwabara looked at each other, shrugged and lunged into the fight.

Kuwabara faced his enemies, trusting that Hiei and Yusuke would keep Jezebel from him, knowing that they were trusting him to keep the Nagas from them.

The Nagas attacked. Kuwabara quickly retaliated, slashing at the Naga. He soon found himself settling in the rhythm of battle.

* * *

Hiei slashed at Jezebel, hoping that she would be unskilled enough not to be able to dodge it. However, that was not the case and she dodged the attack with snakelike grace, the movement almost hypnotizing.

"Take care Yusuke," Hiei cautioned, "She will try to ensnare your mind with her scent."

Yusuke only grinned savagely, "Spirit Gun!"

Jezebel dodged again and smirked, "You boys will have to do better than that to hurt me." She then pulled out two fans and opened them with a snap.

Yusuke almost laughed, but quickly got serious when one of those fans almost gutted him like a fish.

The fight seemed evenly matched for a good amount of time. Jezebel was able to fend the attacks off with her fans or simply dodge them, as she was just as fast as Hiei.

They just went back and forth, in a very odd deadly dance.

Yusuke would charge her, trying to get a hit in, only to be met with hard metal or thin air.

On the other side of Jezebel, Hiei fought with her other fan, only to meet the same problems as Yusuke.

A glance passed between the two fighters and they both attacked as one. And as one, they both were parried and then kicked into a wall. Jezebel laughed coldly.

At this point, they were both covered in cuts, testimonies of the narrow escapes with the deadly fans.

Yusuke looked over Hiei and himself. He had lost his shirt to the fans, and Hiei's cloak was hanging on him by threads. Yusuke blinked, _why do we always lose our shirts? It's strange, I never thought about it but we always do…_

"Yusuke," Hiei yelled, already fighting Jezebel again, "Get over here!"

Yusuke immediately jumped back into the battle.

Their lucky break finally came when Yusuke got a crafty idea. Why not attack her with a charged fist?

So he did it. He swung his fist glowing with spirit energy at her and when Jezebel moved her sharp fan in the way, he didn't stop. Unfortunately for Yusuke, the edge went right into his fingers. On the plus side, the energy traveled into the fan and it exploded, startling Jezebel.

This gave Hiei all the opening he needed. He quickly ducked under her guard and stabbed her through the body with his katana. He stared up into her face, watching as her honey colored eyes widened in surprise.

"No," she coughed out, "You couldn't…have…killed me. I have to stay at my-my Master's side…forever…"

"Go to hell!" Hiei snarled, and cut off her head.

* * *

It didn't seem too long, while at the same time it seemed very long, Kuwabara finished the last of the Nagas. He put away his sword and straightened, wincing as doing so made him realize that he had gathered some wounds on his way through the Nagas.

Then he realized that there were no sounds of fighting behind him. He quickly turned, just in time to see Hiei wipe his sword off on the crumpled body of Jezebel.

Yusuke stood there, sulking, "I almost had her; you could have let me get her!"

Hiei stood up, "You were moving too slowly."

Kuwabara walked over to them, "Well I'm glad that you guys were able to take her out, but it was dishonorable to attack a woman, even if she was evil."

Yusuke rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Let's get Sara, find Kurama and Mrs. M and get the heck out of here."

Hiei opened the door, which led down to a dark set of stairs. The three of them crept down into the dark, hoping not to find any more enemies. However, the fight with Jezebel and her Nagas seemed to have scared the low-level youkai away.

The stairs led them into another hallway, one with a dungeon feel to it.

Hiei walked to a door, "She's in here."

"Stand back," Yusuke ordered, "I'll bust the door down."

"Wait a minute!" Kuwabara protested, "What if she is near the door; you'll hurt her!" He shoved Yusuke out of the way.

"Sara?" Kuwabara called.

Silence, then a small voice answered, "Kuwabara?"

"Yeah, I'm here with the guys. We're going to bust the door down, so stand back!"

"Ok."

Kuwabara turned to Yusuke, "Now you can bust the door down."

Yusuke kicked in the door, revealing Sara. But something was wrong…

"Is that a tail!?" Yusuke yelled.

Sara flinched and nodded.

"Idiot," Hiei said, "Did you not hear the snake say that the seal had been breached? She is going to have some kitsune characteristics now."

"Oh yeah," Yusuke scratched his head, "I forgot."

Kuwabara helped Sara out of the room. "Don't worry Sara. Kurama will be able to help you. We just have to go back and find him."

Sara started and looked around, "Where is Kurama? Is he okay?"

Yusuke shrugged, "I guess. We got separated when he found the guy that kidnapped his mom."

Sara's eyes widened and her mouth dropped in surprise, "Someone kidnapped Mrs. Shiori!?"

"Yeah, but I'm sure Kurama handled them. We felt a power surge and shrimp says that it was Yoko coming out." Yusuke headed back up the stairs, "We got to find them so we can get out of this place."

Everyone followed him, but not everyone could follow his carefree attitude.

Kuwabara noticed that Sara's new tail was tense and she was jumping at every shadow. Hiei was also tense, but he was always tense. However, Kuwabara thought that he could sense worry in him, which only increased the worry in him.

_I sure hope we find Kurama and Mrs. M soon._

* * *

Shiori followed Yoko and Caius, hoping that Sara was alright, though why Sara had been captured Shiori didn't know. Really, she didn't know quite a bit about this. All she really knew was what Sara had told her, and other than the fact that Kurama, Yusuke, Hiei and Kuwabara weren't normal, that wasn't much.

Thinking of the other boys made Shiori wonder if they were here. She opened her mouth to ask, but quickly closed it again. She had almost called him Shuichi.

Observing Yoko, Shiori had to confess that this man was most definitely not Kurama. He moved differently, for one thing. He was obviously alert and watchful of everything. The expression in his eyes was the biggest difference, however. Kurama's eyes had never appeared so hard or cold, even in the worst moments.

Finally, Shiori gathered up the courage to address him. "Yoko."

One ear swiveled back towards her, but that was the only sign she got that he was listening.

"Did the boys come with you too?" she asked.

"Yes. They went ahead to try and rescue Sara," Yoko told her.

Shiori frowned, worried for their safety. Had they had to fight people as well?

As they walked through the halls, they came to an area that was slightly more open. Ahead of them they could see Hiei, Yusuke, and Kuwabara coming towards them, along with some girl. She noticed that the boys had been in some sort of fight, as Yusuke and Hiei had lost their shirts and all three were injured. It took Shiori a moment to realize that the girl was Sara. There were some…changes about her, most noticeably the brown tail behind her.

To their left was a large open doorway, and standing just behind the threshold was a man. He looked fairly average in appearance, but his eyes were like two black pits, the likes of which could drive a person insane.

"Caius," the man said darkly.

Caius smiled and nodded cheerfully at him. "Mister Jack."

"You will pay for your treachery," Jack said.

Caius sighed. "Come now sir, you really should have expected it. After all, I'm the one who always had an extra plan. Besides, I have a feeling that even I will be dead by the time you escape from your prison."

By this time the rest of the group had met them where they were. Jack's eyes moved to encompass them all. "I do not suffer defeat lightly. All of you will pay for this."

Yusuke rolled his eyes, apparently not impressed. "We've had death threats before, buddy. No one's succeeded yet."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say that I would kill you. I discovered long ago that the most effective punishments did not involve killing anyone."

Shiori shuddered. She wanted to get away from this place, and away from that man. He was evil, and no good could come of talking to him.

"Let's go," Caius said. "There is no point in talking to him."

"Wait, who are you?" Kuwabara asked.

"My name is Caius," he replied. "For right now, I'm on your side."

Sara huddled behind Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei, "He's the one that broke the seal my mother put on me."

The boys tensed. "So he's the bad guy?" Yusuke asked.

Caius shook his head, "No, not now. I am simply on Shiori's side."

The newcomers all looked confused. "It will be explained later," Yoko growled. "For now, let us simply get out of here."

The group found their way out of the building with no problems, eventually exiting out of the same tree they had entered through.

Once they were back into the park, with the portal in the tree closed, Yusuke turned to Yoko, "Know of any ways to close that thing down for good? Last thing we need is for the big baddy to get more minions."

Yoko closed his eyes, "Yes, I believe that the tree would not be hard to convince to never open the portal again.

Shiori watched as he walked over to the tree and placed his hands on it. He seemed to talk to it for a few minutes and then he did something to it. Where the tree had once been dead and gnarled, it was now alive and straight.

Yusuke nodded his head, "Good, now we need to let the baby know what happened, and that we have saved the world, again."

Yoko shook his head, "You will have to go without Sara and I. We cannot go into the city looking like we do. We will return once I have returned to being Shuichi."

"Alrightly then, let's go!"

Kuwabara turned to Shiori. "Let's go Mrs. M. Time to get you back home." Kuwabara reached for her arm.

"No!" Shiori snapped, "I'm not leaving from this spot until I get some answers!"

Everyone looked surprised at her outburst. Yoko simply nodded. "At this point, you deserve them."

Shiori felt she deserved to get them long ago, but this wasn't the moment to argue the point.

"Right then," Yusuke said. "We'll just go. You coming?" he asked Caius.

"He'll stay," Shiori said. "I've got some questions for him, too."

Yusuke, Hiei and Kuwabara left then, leaving the others on their own. Caius leaned against a tree, though not the one that had previously been the portal to Jack's prison. Sara sat on the ground near Yoko, who simply stood where he was watching Shiori.

"Well?" Shiori prompted.

Yoko brushed some hair out of his face before speaking. "What Caius said is mostly true. I was a thief who was almost killed by a bounty hunter. I sought refuge within Kurama's body, and my original intentions had been to take over his body and leave once I was strong enough, which would have been when he was about ten years old." Yoko paused for a moment. "Eventually those plans changed."

Shiori swallowed. It was hard, hearing him say things like that. "What changed your mind?"

"You did."

She was shocked at that. "I did?"

Yoko nodded, his eyes softening ever so slightly. "Yes. You and your love. It was something I had not experienced in a long, long time. I didn't want to lose that."

It was hard to be angry at someone when they said that, but Shiori wasn't quite ready to forgive him.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"That wasn't entirely my decision. Kurama didn't want you to know. It was supposed to keep you safe if you didn't know. Obviously that didn't work to well." He paused for a moment. "There was also the chance that you would hate us if you found out the truth."

Shiori was stunned at that statement. Kurama had thought she would hate him? She could never hate him, no matter what he did or who he was. Oh, she might not approve of everything he did, but she would always love him. There was no way she couldn't love him.

She was also a little hurt by that fear. Did they think so little of her?

She stepped forward and gently reached out to touch his face. "I could never hate you; either of you. The way I see it, the both of you are my sons. I just wish you had trusted me enough to tell me the truth instead of hiding it."

Yoko closed his eyes, "I'm sorry Mother, but it had been so long since I have been able to trust anyone. I suppose that Kurama absorbed that paranoia."

Shiori was saddened by this admission, what kind of life had he lived? "I can understand that," she said calmly.

She reached up and took his head in both hands and brought his eyes level with hers. "But don't you ever, ever lie to me again! Do you understand me? I love you, you are both my sons, and I will always love you!"

Staring into his eyes, she thought that she saw the shine of unshed tears there.

* * *

Yoko stared at their mother and remembered anew why he couldn't leave her behind.

_We love her too much to leave_, Kurama whispered in their mind, _she is our mother_.

Yoko silently agreed as he gathered the woman in his arms. "Thank you, Mother, for everything."

They parted after a minute of hugging, Shiori having to wipe her eyes

Yoko turned to Sara, "Well, let's see what has happened to you." He observed her wide eyes with a little laugh. "Yes, this is what a full-grown kitsune looks like." He turned in a circle, and then walked in a circle around Sara. "Looks like you got the claws, a little bit of fang, and the tail. That's a good thing."

He ran his claws through the fur on the tail and smiled when she purred. When he stopped there was a surprised gasp from Sara. He laughed, "Your tail is the most sensitive body part you have. You will need to be careful with it."

Yoko looked beyond Sara to where his mother was. She was watching and listening with rapt attention. "Mother, Sara's mother was a brown kitsune, as you can tell from the color of the fur on her tail. I am a silver kitsune."

Shiori's eyes traveled over them. "How long will you both be in these forms?"

Yoko thought about it for a moment, "Well, Sara will be in the hanyou—half yokai – form until she learns to blend in and call forth a human form. I will be here until I have used enough energy for my energy levels to exist in a human form."

"How long will that be?"

Yoko shrugged, "I don't know. The previous times I have been out, the times have varied; the causes different. Caius might know; he is the cause of it after all." He finished with a glare.

Caius spoke from where he was still leaning against the tree, "I simply called you forth. I didn't decide the amount of energy that would come with you."

Shiori's eyes traveled to his ears, and Yoko wasn't surprised at the question that came next. "As long as you're stuck like that, can I touch your ears?"

Yoko didn't mind the idea, but he didn't want it to happen in front of Caius. "Didn't you have some questions to ask Caius?"

Shiori's gaze darted to the man in question. "That's right, I did."

Caius straightened slightly. "Ask away."

"Were you planning for this to end this way the whole time?" she asked.

Caius smiled, looking amused. "Pretty much. It didn't take me long to decide I didn't want to work for Jack. As soon as he gave the order for us to capture Sara, of course I started observing the Spirit Detectives right away, knowing I'd probably have to fight them. That's how I found you, Shiori, which is what caused me to make my plans."

"So you orchestrated this whole thing?" Shiori asked.

"That would be going a bit far," Caius said, "but I did nudge things along."

"But if you didn't want to work for Jack, why didn't you just leave?" Shiori asked.

"Because I was bonded to him," Caius said.

"I thought you couldn't break the bond," Shiori said.

"The only way to break the bond is to bond with someone else. As it happens, the flavor of energy I like is very rare, which does make breaking the bond very difficult. Other than Jack, you are the only person I've found with the flavor I like."

"So you're saying that Mother and Jack have the same 'flavor' of energy?" Yoko asked with some displeasure.

Caius shrugged. "The flavor has nothing to do with personality. It's not really something we know how to explain."

Mist swirled around Yoko without warning. In seconds he and Kurama had changed places again. But this time, Yoko could sense something was different.

Kurama straightened and stretched, glad to be in control once more. Then he noticed everyone staring at him in shock. "What's wrong?" he asked with a frown.

"Your hair," Shiori said.

Kurama grabbed a fistful of hair and brought it forward so he could see. It was silver.

* * *

Syco and I have an announcement to make. This was the last chapter of Sara's Story.

**Before you kill us, let us say that there will be a sequel!**

Also for those of you who remember the art contest from a few months ago, Choji'sGirl was the winner. The idea she wanted was for Sara to 'meet herself', which we put in this chapter. We will also be continuing that thread in the sequel.

**Hope you enjoyed the story, thank you for reading!**

Oh, and Happy New Year!


End file.
